1.   As firecrackers pop in the distance, the men repeatedly express thanks to the United States.

2.   Along the boulevards and quais of the city, as horns honked and firecrackers popped, celebrants chanted his name.

3.   In Chinatown, the new year was ushered in for decades with lion dancers wending their way through the neighborhood while red firecrackers popped away and heightened the excitement.

4.   Outside in the streets, firecrackers popped in celebration.

5.   Firecrackers popped in the evening air, another taboo a year ago.

6.   Firecrackers popped in celebration in the streets around the downtown National Theatre, where the event was held.

7.   Late into the eveningm, lights shone from the windows of bank skyscrapers as employees worked to refigure computer records, but firecrackers popped and fizzed in the streets.

8.   Lights shone from the windows of bank skyscrapers as employees worked to refigure computer records, but firecrackers popped and fizzed in the streets.

9.   Occasional firecrackers popped overhead.

10.   The air vibrated with shrill whistles, and an occasional firecracker popped among the marchers.