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CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake

China

CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake
China

China

CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake

2025-01-29 02:38 Last Updated At:04:17

The 2025 Spring Festival Gala hosted and aired by the China Media Group (CMG) has delivered over four hours of captivating cultural performances to audiences tuning in from all around the world as people celebrate one of the most important Chinese holidays.

The gala opened at 20:00 Tuesday Beijing time on the eve of the Chinese New Year of the Snake, with performances being staged at the main venue in Beijing and at four sub-venues across the country, namely Wuxi, Wuhan, Chongqing and Lhasa.

Themed "Year of the Snake, Keep Your Spirit Awake", the annual television extravaganza featured a dazzling array of singing and dancing, opera, comedy sketches, martial arts and other performances.

As the first gala held since the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the Spring Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December last year, this year's show featured more elements of intangible cultural heritage such as Lazi Duixie, a traditional tap dance from Lazi County in Xizang Autonomous Region, and the ritual act of Yingge Dance which is popular in the Chaoshan area of the southern Guangdong Province.

Highlighting a blend of traditional and modern elements, with performances ranging from humanoid robots performing folk dances, to operas with regional traditions, to comedy sketches and magic tricks, the gala once again demonstrated the rich and diverse culture of China as it brought together artists from the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and performers of various ethnic groups.

A delightful collision of cultures was also displayed at the event, with Chinese and Peruvian artists sharing the stage to deliver a performance blending a traditional Chinese folk song with a popular Peruvian orchestral musical piece.

The gala also featured a performance by American pop rock band OneRepublic, who gave a rendition of their popular single 'Counting Stars' from the stage of the sub-venue in Wuhan.

The marathon variety show reached its climax with the countdown to New Year and the ringing of the midnight bell signaling the arrival of the Year of the Snake.

Also known as "Chunwan", the gala was first broadcast in 1983 and is seen as a major cultural symbol for Spring Festival celebrations in China.

Recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's most-watched annual TV program, the hours-long television extravaganza attracts over a billion views every year.

CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake

CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake

CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake

CMG stages annual Spring Festival Gala as China celebrates Year of Snake

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China’s Spring Festival box office reaches new high

2025-01-31 06:51 Last Updated At:07:27

The Chinese mainland's Spring Festival box office revenue, including pre-sales, reached a new high of 3.3 billion yuan (about 460.32 million U.S. dollars) in the ongoing Spring Festival holiday season as of 17:32 local time on Thursday, according to film data platform Maoyan.

According to the platform, China's total box office so far in 2025, including real-time pre-sales, topped 5 billion yuan (about 697.46 U.S. dollars) as of 15:32 local time on Thursday.

The highly anticipated follow-up to the 2019 animated blockbuster "Nezha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea" now grabs the top spot on the box office ranking list, according to the platform.

Six domestic films hit China's cinema screens on Wednesday, also the first day of the 2025 Chinese New Year, spanning a variety of genres including comedy, action, martial arts, science fiction and animation, catering to a wide spectrum of audiences.

The lineup includes the mythological epic "Creation of the Gods II: Demonic Confrontation," the sequel to the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese history "Nezha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea," martial art film "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero," action comedy "Detective Chinatown 1900," military-themed film "Operation Hadal" and animated feature "Boonie Bears: Future Reborn."

More films in this year's Spring Festival slate focus on enhancing the audience's audio-visual experience than ever before. Among the six films, five are being shown in four different formats, including IMAX, CINITY, Dolby and China Film Giant Screen (CGS), offering more choices to the audience.

"With these audio-visual effects, the movie seems more realistic to viewers, and we can better experience the astonishing scenes. I'm an avid movie fan who watches films every year during the Spring Festival, and I feel that the technologies being used to enhance the viewer's experience become more advanced each year," said a resident from Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province .

"It feels so real, as if we were actually in the movie scene. It's really great," said Qi Fei, resident from Jinan.

In addition to providing a vibrant visual experience, the new movie projection system also helps protect viewers' eyesight.

"The LED screens use blue light technology, which could better protect our eyes while delivering an enhanced viewing experience," said another resident from Jinan.

During the Spring Festival holiday, cinemas across China will make available cinema screening rooms featuring different audio and visual effects to improve viewers' experience.

"For example, we project 'Operation Leviathan' in the IMAX room to get a 26 percent increase in the screening size, to offer a better viewing experience compared to regular theaters. 'Creation of the Gods II: Demonic Confrontation' is screened in a three-screen theater, and "Nezha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea" is shown in a 4D theater. These changes in screening formats provide the audiences with better experience," said Wang Meng from a cinema in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province in northwest China.

More than 860 CINITY screenings, over 1,300 CGS screenings, and 4,540 IMAX screenings were held on Wednesday, according to box office tracker Dengta Data.

By 19:00 local time that day, the IMAX box office revenue surpassed 70 million yuan (around 9.76 million U.S. dollars), nearly doubling the figure for the corresponding period of last year. The box office contribution also increased from 2.8 percent to 4.1 percent, which indicates approval by the audience of the improved audio-visual experience of this year's Spring Festival film releases.

China’s Spring Festival box office reaches new high

China’s Spring Festival box office reaches new high

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