Ring of fire

The siren sounded and the fuses were lit. Then it was uncontrolled motion as the fireworks screamed around us and exploded in our faces, stung our bodies and lit up the night.

The Yanshui Beehive Fireworks (鹽水蜂炮) festival reached its climax last night with thousands gathering to witness and endure the ritual bombardment by fire rocket which has been going on for around 120 years. Naturally enough this has evolved into a night market frenzy and pyrotechnical festival in Yanshui (鹽水), Tainan County, that is unrivaled around the world.

Saturday night was the start of Lantern Festival and there was a brief ceremony at the 344-year-old Wu Temple, and a flurry of explosions, before palanquins carrying ancient Chinese Gods were carried off along routes through the town and surrounding countryside.

Principal among the Gods was the righteous Guan Gong, who is said to have been responsible for protecting the people of Yanshui in 1885 when it was suffering from cholera and plague. Since then the people of Yanshui have been letting off firecrackers to express their thanks.

To the beat of gongs and drums the bearers of the palanquins marched through the crowds, in their heavy coats and motorbike helmets, to which fireproof materials had been attached to prevent fireworks hitting the neck or coming underneath the layers of protective clothing. When the bearers of the palanquins rested, large trailers with metal cages -- called beehives because of the sound of the fireworks when they are let off -- were wheeled into the crowd. Organizers shouted instructions down the phone, waved their light sticks and the fuses were set.

Hundreds of helmeted people jumped up and down as the charges went off. They fell over each other, shreaking when a firework hit and laughing at the madness. One pair sang the Johnny Cash song Ring of Fire: Fell into a burning ring of fire/I went down, down, down/And the flames went higher.

Those who attended the festival were a mixture of the curious and the addicted. It was the second visit for Bruce Ding, who had come from Kaohsiung and was primed for action. "It's very exciting," he said, adding that a rocket had burned his leg last year and that being close to the beehive often hurt a lot, since the force of the rockets was greater.

But, in fact, there were no reported accidents on Saturday. Fire crew personnel who were present said they rarely encounter serious injuries or fires. Organizers, they said, were responsible enough not to use powerful fireworks.

Like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, Yanshui provides an arena for colorful and extreme celebration. But instead off bulls charging through the streets there are rockets buzzing around our heads. It may not be entirely harmless fun, but that is the thrill.