BEIJING, Jan. 28, 2025 -- This year's Spring Festival Gala, an annual celebration produced and broadcast by China Media Group, commenced on Tuesday, the eve of the Chinese New Year, as Chinese people worldwide celebrated the Spring Festival, the most important Chinese festival centering on family reunions.
Known as "Chunwan," the gala, the first since China's Spring Festival was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, has not only continued its tradition as the must-watch show for Chinese families on Chinese New Year's Eve since 1983 but also reached new heights in showcasing human warmth and cultural heritage.
The gala showcased a mix of performances, from music, comedy and traditional arts like opera and martial arts to spectacular acts such as magic and acrobatics. It was also the fourth year viewers could watch the gala on vertical screens. The mobile-optimized vertical format of the gala has proved especially popular, garnering 130 million, 190 million, and 420 million views, respectively, in the three preceding years.
A heartfelt gathering
This year's gala placed a stronger emphasis on celebrating the lives and contributions of ordinary people, further embodying the idea of "the people's Spring Festival Gala."
From grassroots police officers and railway crew members to intangible cultural heritage inheritors and famous internet personalities, people from all walks of life were invited to share their personal stories and introduce the programs in the gala.
The gala also introduced barrier-free broadcasting for visually and hearing-impaired audiences for the first time, using augmented reality (AR) virtual technology and AI voice recognition to provide an inclusive viewing experience for them.
Sign language interpreters, enhanced by AR effects, and audio descriptions of the performances ensured that everyone could enjoy the festivities, further solidifying the gala's role as a celebration for all.
Bridging cultures through celebration
As the first Spring Festival Gala following the UNESCO recognition, the 2025 edition emphasized showcasing China's intangible cultural heritage.
The opening visual spectacle, "Welcoming Fortune," combined cutting-edge technologies such as AR, interactive screens, and naked-eye 3D to present traditional Chinese New Year customs and cultural elements from across the country.
From the vibrant art of paper cutting to copper engraving and "iron flowers," a folk art performance in which molten iron is cast into the air to show a firework effect, each performance was a testament to the richness and diversity of Chinese intangible cultural heritage.
Another standout program was "The Pillars and Beams," a song-and-dance act inspired by Beijing's Central Axis, which was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2024.
Modern digital art was also used to show the structures of ancient Chinese architecture to viewers in detail, bringing an immersive experience of excellent Chinese traditional culture.
The gala is not just a domestic phenomenon but also a global event, inviting people from around the world to participate in the celebration.
Evan Kyle, a young American man who donated a World War II photo album to China, was invited to attend the gala. Foreign musicians and singers also performed during the gala. Among them, American rock band OneRepublic performed its hit song "Counting Stars." Chinese and Peruvian singers sang "Condor and Lanhuahua," which combines Lan Huahua, a popular folk song of Northern Shaanxi in China, and "El Condor Pasa," a Peruvian folk song.
Through CGTN and its multilingual platforms, this year's gala reached viewers in over 200 countries and regions.
With live broadcasts in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Russian and coverage by more than 2,900 media outlets worldwide, the gala continues to serve as a cultural bridge connecting people across the globe.
CGTN has launched the Snake Year Dance Fun challenge to celebrate the Year of the Snake, attracting active participation from more than 70 countries and regions. CGTN also hosts its Spring Festival special "Super Night" on the eve of the Chinese New Year, presenting splendid programs to viewers worldwide in multiple languages to promote cultural exchanges.
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