Patriotism-themed light show put on in Shenzhen

Six hundred drones were used to put on a light show in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province on Sunday. The patriotism-themed show was visible to the people in Hong Kong, as the city experienced another week of protests.

A scene from a video released by People's Daily shows drones forming the slogans "I love Hong Kong" and "I love China" in the sky at Shenzhen Bay in Guangdong Province, on Sunday, August 11, 2019. [Photo: China Plus]

The light show took place at a park alongside Shenzhen Bay, which is situated between Shenzhen and Hong Kong's Yuen Long district.

At around 7:30 p.m. the drones took to the air to display patriotic slogans including "I love China" and "I love Hong Kong". The drone performance is part of an event organized by People's Daily that includes images of China's national flag being projected onto skyscrapers near the bay. After the show started, people in Shenzhen began singing well-known patriotic songs.

A scene from a video released by People's Daily shows drones taking to the air to present a light show in the sky at Shenzhen Bay in Guangdong Province, on Sunday, August 11, 2019. [Photo: China Plus]

The event organizers were aiming to inspire patriotism and to show their support to the residents of Hong Kong across the bay. The city has experienced escalating conflict in the streets for the past several weeks, which began with a rally against a now-shelved extradition bill. The protests have evolved from sit-ins and marches into increasingly destructive attacks against property and sieges of police stations. One police officer suffered burns on the weekend after he was hit by a petrol bomb thrown by one of the protesters.

The event in Shenzhen has become a hot topic on China's social media platform Sino Weibo, with about 320,000 discussions.