A grand fireworks show will dazzle the night of October 1 in Beijing, as part of a gala event celebrating the 60th anniversary of new China.

The show, lasting more than half an hour, will use twice the amount of fireworks used during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Beijing Daily reported.

The show's highlights will be three fireworks paintings over Tian'anmen Square for about one minute, said Zhang Heping, deputy commander of the event.

The fireworks paintings, 90 m long by 25 m wide each, are the largest of their kind in the world, he said.

Six cranes, each weighing 250 tons, will be used to ensure these fireworks paintings hang in the air, he said.

He declined to reveal the paintings' themes.

Jia Ding, the gala event's executive director, said that the fireworks paintings will be a big surprise to the audience.

The fireworks display is designed by Cai Guoqiang, who surprised millions of viewers last year with the 29 big footprints walking along the middle axis of Beijing city during the Olympic Games' opening ceremony.

Insiders said the impending National Day fireworks show would excel last year's in scale, art style and technique.

In terms of scale, fireworks will be blasted off from 99 sites in the city's 16 districts and counties this year, instead of 74 sites last year.

The main site is Tian'anmen Square, its neighboring area, and the section of the Chang'an Avenue between Jianguomen and Fuxingmen, Beijing Daily reported.

The fireworks show will use the art form of painting and Chinese calligraphy to surprise viewers.

As for technique, experiments have been carried out in Peking University, to make sure the fireworks paintings, with a total area of more than 2,000 sq m, can resist strong winds.

The operators also must install and adjust the mechanics of the fireworks paintings within five hours, a task that usually requires a week, said Yu Jianping, the gala event's technology director.

Jia Ding, the executive director, said that the fireworks paintings might apply for a Guinness Book of World Records.

Starting Monday, more than 2,200 lighting facilities and 200 lights at tourist sites have been switched on from 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM.

Lighting decorations will light up the capital city at night for 11 straight days from last Sunday to October 7. During the past National Day holidays, however, the lightings were usually switched on for five days.

During the 11 days, the lighting decorations will last the longest on October 1, from 5:30 PM to 2:00 AM next day, the municipal government said.

Also on Sunday, a new painting of Chairman Mao Zedong was hung on the Tian'anmen rostrum to replace the year-old one.

It is a routine that the painting of Chairman Mao will be replaced by a new one ahead of each National Day, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The new painting is 6 m long by 4.6 m wide. It weighs 1.5 tons including the frame.

(China Daily September 29, 2009)