Gallery: Hong Kong's dazzling East Asian Games opening spectacular

gallery

Hong Kong's now traditional fishing boats were lit up to replicate the junks of yester-year to tell the story of Hong Kong's rise from a small fishing village to one of the world's most prosperous international cities.

Hong Kong turned it on for the East Asian Games opening ceremony, impressing hundreds of thousands of onlookers with a water-borne show on Victoria Harbour that concluded with yet another amazing fireworks display.

Indeed, residents in the former British Colony regularly get treated to impressive pyrotechnics (think New Year's Eve, Chinese New Year's, China National Day...) but the show on Saturday incorporated new elements -- a highlight being the armada of lit-up fishing boats that told the tale of Hong Kong's rise from a small fishing village.

Lights created red sails on the boats -- to emulate the junks that used to plow the waterways. Check out the gallery above.

The East Asian Games runs Dec 5-13 and is the first major international multi-sport event to be held in Hong Kong. (Competition actually began Dec 2).

Over 2,300 athletes are competing for more than 262 gold medals across 22 sports. Nine teams are competing: China, Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, North and South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Guam and Mongolia.