火树银花
huǒ shù yín huā
a blaze of lights and fireworks
Character by character
火huǒ
fire
fire
树shù
trees
trees
银yín
silver
silver
花huā
flowers
flowers
Example
国庆节晚上，江边火树银花，游客们纷纷拿出手机拍照。
On the evening of National Day the riverside was a blaze of lights and fireworks, and visitors all got out their phones to take pictures.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
From 苏味道’s Tang poem on the Lantern Festival night (火树银花合，星桥铁锁开), where it pictures the lamp-lit night; today it covers fireworks too. Used of lanterns, illuminations and fireworks at festivals, mostly in writing and the news: 夜空中火树银花, 一片火树银花.
Learn this in Lesson 41 · HSK 5–6: 元宵、七夕与重阳 (The smaller festivals)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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