Fireworks on Hudson tonight to usher in Chinese New Year

Fireworks display over Hudson River in a file photo. Provided to / China Daily

Chinese Lunar New Year will move into the big time on Tuesday with a fireworks show over the Hudson River.

The show will be organized by China's largest and most prestigious arts academy, the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), with an endorsement from China's Ministry of Culture.

Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Thursday, Feb 19, and is celebrated by approximately one out of every six people in the world.

Titled Harmonious China and conducted in partnership with Fireworks by Grucci, the 20-minute fireworks display will commence at 7:30 pm, deploying three barges on the Hudson River next to Manhattan's West Side, nearly equaling the scope of the iconic Macy's Independence Day Fireworks Spectacular on the Fourth of July.

The display will also be the first large-scale fireworks display in the United States to commemorate Chinese Lunar New Year.

Viewing will be possible along the Hudson River from both the Midtown Manhattan and New Jersey sides, and there will be live music broadcast on three local radio stations - WKDM AM1380, WZRC AM1480 and WGBB AM1240 - featuring special music composed by Guan Xia, director of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

The fireworks display will be divided into four thematic and emotional chapters - starting with Great Jubilance, followed by The Return of Spring, then Illumination of Stars and the Moon, and concluding with a powerful Universal Celebration.

The fireworks kick off a week of Lunar New Year events at cultural institutions around New York City as part of CAFA's Happy Chinese New Year: Fantastic Art China, including a public art exhibition at the Rubenstein Atrium and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center (Feb 18-24), a lighting display of the Empire State Building (Feb 17-19), and other events hosted by partners including the New York Philharmonic, New York Historical Society, National Dance Institute, US-China Cultural Institute / Committee of 100, the China Institute, and the Chinese Consulate in New York.