This is the first time ColinJong.com plays you some music. Please switch on your speaker and click on the play button above to listen.

I have created this MIDI file based on the most popular Chinese New Year song - Da4Tuan2 Yuan2, which means a “big gathering“.

This is not the first time I create a midi music, but it took me at least 5 hours to compose this song. I know it may not be as perfect as the professionally made MIDI, but please comment to give support. :p

Hehe… This is the second time I create midi files. First time was during my college time where I had to create a website and for a multimedia project. It was about 8 years ago. Then I didn’t touch the midi program at all until weeks ago, where I have an idea to add music to ColinJong.com. I don’t have the real MIDI keyboard connected to my computer, but the “virtual organ” and control panels are on my screen. I felt that I was sitting in a recording studio keying in one note after another and test it hundreds of times. It’s really a tedious work and I was having a good time testing the limit of my patience.

If you felt that this music is lousy, I am sorry because I have no music background at all nor attended any music lesson, but I have to thank my parents for giving me a Mini Casio Organ (for kids) when I was in primary school, without that organ I don’t think I can create this MIDI especially the rhythm part which took me hours of work. Now I don’t know where the mini organ has gone to.

If I have time I wish I can learn piano. Am I too old to learn piano?

Okay, now let me show you the original music video. I will remove them from ColinJong.com in the future if they show broken link or any issue with the copyright.

No matter where I go, the coffee shop, shopping mall, car servicing center, FM radio, almost everywhere I can listen to these two songs. Can you imagine how popular they are? :p New year is over and I am not paid to promote them. :p Hehe…

Sorry for those who are suffering from hearing difficulties, I wish I can make a vibration speaker for you so that you can feel the music. May be this type of device is available in the market already, I am not sure, tell me if you know.

Aren’t they beautiful? Lanterns are not only for the Mooncake or Lantern Festival but also popular during Chinese New Year, especially red lanterns. According to the myth, to frighten away the beast called Nian2, red lanterns are one of the things the villagers put outside their houses because it is afraid of red.

Remember we went out twenty minutes after twelve on the first day of Chinese New Year and found the city in a mist? It was still hazy when we took these pictures at a temple called Lin2Hua2Shan1 on our way back. It was around two in the morning so I think the real mist must have mixed with the remaining smoke from the firecrackers so the environment was much foggier.

They have done a really great job in hanging and displaying these red lanterns. The smaller red lanterns are hanged from the top all the way down to the other end, creating a nice atmosphere around the temple. They look like stars aligned neatly in the sky.

There are also different patterns of red lanterns. These three lanterns, starting from large to medium and then small, connects together and brings out one special lantern. At a glance, they look a little bit like vases turned upside down though. I still remember when I was in my primary studies, my teacher taught us to make lanterns and shapes of fish using red packets (ang pow) as house displaying accessories for Chinese New Year. We made “lanterns” similar to these too. The “lanterns” had three layers began with large to medium and small. And we made them with extra care because we were using the red packets. It was a lot of work but it was fun.

The temple also have a pagoda like entrance and exit. From these spots, you can see all the red lanterns, the small ones, the special one and also just a single big red lantern by itself.

Lanterns from big to small.

The tall GuanYin statue is another main attraction at the temple.

Our friends gather together at the temple.

We went home at about 3am and it was still foggy