DURING the Chinese New Year, a balloon dragon measuring over 40 meters long glided through a three-story atrium of a shopping mall in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. On Jan. 24, the artwork was confirmed breaking the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest balloon dragon. The dragon epitomizes resilience, dynamism, and vitality within Chinese culture. With glittering scales on it, the record-breaking dragon, made up of 38,000 balloons, looks plated with a layer of golden light, showing a sense of power and elegance. Its creator Wilson Pang, with over a decade of experience in the craft, harbored a long-standing aspiration to craft a dragon-shaped balloon. “According to legend, the dragon is in charge of rain. Only good weather can produce good crops, so the Chinese people have been in special awe of the dragon since ancient times,” Pang said, adding that many Chinese idioms about dragon are particularly good blessings. As this year is the Year of the Dragon, Pang quickly finalized cooperation with the shopping mall and decided to make a gigantic balloon dragon. He invited his counterparts and students from the City University of Hong Kong and a secondary school to form a 60-member team. “The dragon is a totem of the Chinese people and has a special meaning, so the production should be rigorous,” Pang said, adding that a lot of data was collected before he started to make it. Pang said that the most difficult part was the eyes, with more than 10 drafts being made for one eye alone before he was satisfied. The balloon artist thought the team could set a record with a dragon of over 10 meters, but the Guinness officials said it would have to reach at least 33 meters, and it could not be supported by any additional skeleton, so the team had to start all over again. The dragon project began Jan. 20, with the team working round the clock and finally completed a 41.77-meter-long balloon dragon without skeleton support. The Guinness certification officer was greatly impressed, saying it was one of the most delicate balloon artworks ever. The team members clapped excitedly upon the announcement of the new record. Before becoming a balloon artist, Pang was a magician. He became interested in balloons after attending a child’s birthday party where he found that balloons could give people a lot of joy. Later, he went around the world to learn from different teachers and his skills continued to improve. Pang’s works have won prizes in the U.S. and set local records in places including Singapore. This time his work set a world record in Hong Kong, which was a dream that came true for him. “This is the most memorable work I’ve ever done. It is very meaningful,” he said. The exhibition of the dragon drew large crowds of people to visit. “Beautiful,” “Amazing,” “Spectacular,” and “Thanks for bringing us peace,” Pang received shedloads of positive comments on his social media page. To thank visitors for their support, Pang printed 5,000 postcards featuring the dragon for them and arranged a meeting with them at the mall. “To deliver a warm, loving, positive message to Hong Kong is what I always want to do,” Pang said. Two-thirds of the team members that produced the dragon were students. Pang believed that it was important to give young people opportunities, so he specially invited college and high school students to participate in the project. “I hope to share what I have learned with young people,” Pang said. “I had won championships myself and I hope to bring a new generation of champions in the future.” Growing up in Hong Kong, a place where Chinese and Western cultures blend, Pang often thought about how to interpret the beauty of Eastern culture with balloon art originating from the West. The balloon artist hoped one day he can introduce to the world balloon works that display the Chinese culture. “This is my balloon dream,” he said. (Xinhua) | 