Traditional carnivals, mixed with Hong Kong people's wishes and expectations, were held in some Hong Kong parks on Wednesday evening to receive the 2004 New Year.

The carnival at Sha Tin Park and Sha Tin Town Hall Plaza featured various entertainment. On the main stage in the park, " Batacuda", a group of five percussionists from Australia, performed a high-energy cross-cultural medley of rhythm, circus skills and mayhem.

Bands including Yip Sai-wing and his friends Chet Lam and DSC, rocked carnival-goers into the new year. Other performances include exotic African Drums and Hip Hop, Jazz, Break-dance and Brazilian Dance. The Dance and Musical Stage at the neighboring Sha Tin Town Hall Plaza featured enchanting Ballroom and Latin Dancing and music from the popular children tales "Snow White" and "Cinderella". The children audience was later enchanted by the magic and drama of the Children's Fun Corner.

Artists in different costumes paraded around the carnival. There were bamboo dance from the Philippines, Korean traditional drums and folk dance, Scottish Highland pipe music and Mexican music.

Victoria Park, Times Square, Culture Center and Tamar Site were the main rendezvous of the New Year's eve carnivals. At Victoria Park, the carnival, which will run until O0:30 on New Year's Day, are showcasing a spectrum of fun-packed programs including physical theater, music, dances, magic show, roving entertainment as well as a high countdown tower to celebrate the coming of the new year.

Outside the Times Square, organized jointly by Times Square and Radio and Television Hong Kong (RTHK), a group of popular local singers and other young talents presented performances at the open piazza to nearly 8,000, who had gathered there a few hours before the performances began.

Some 15 apples hanging outside Times Square were lit up one by one leading up to midnight. A massive volume of confetti was released from the sky at 12"According to a promotion manager of Times Square Estates Limited, this is the 11th consecutive year that Times Square has organized the "Times Square Apple Countdown" on Dec. 31, which was first initiated in 1993 when the shopping mall opened.

The manager said that one difference of the countdown carnival this year is that much more mainland visitors than ever have come to Hong Kong and joined the happy mass in this special night.

After the signing of CEPA (Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement), the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong leaped over the past several months. The New Year and the upcoming Lunar New Year give another boost to the visit arrivals in Hong Kong.

A group of visitors from Shanghai watching the countdown vista said they had come here two times, all in Hong Kong's New Year holidays, when Hong Kong is always more beautiful and bustling.

"It's a holiday for all the people," Fei Lang, a visitor said, "a holiday for Hong Kong people, and for us."

"I wish Hong Kong well, and I wish the our Chinese nation well in the coming new year," he said.

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