Four sub-venues serve up rich cultural feast during 2025 Lantern Festival Gala

The China Media Group (CMG)'s 2025 Lantern Festival Gala sought to spread the festive cheer on Wednesday night by featuring four sub-venues across the country, highlighting China's rich and diverse culture while showcasing the distinctive local characteristics of each location.

The gala boasted a star-studded lineup and delivered a high-tech visual-audio feast for viewers tuning in from around the world to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which landed on Wednesday this year.

First broadcast in 1985, this year's Lantern Festival Gala again staged a whole host of entertaining variety performances including energetic song and dances, comedy sketches, as well as traditional operas and magic shows, highlighting China's unique cultural charm.

In addition to the gala's main stage in Beijing, this year the four sub-venues included Wuhan in central China, the ancient city of Lhasa in the Xizang Autonomous Region, the historic water town of Wuxi in east China's Jiangsu Province, and the bustling southwestern metropolis of Chongqing.

The sub-venue in Wuhan depicted the city's bustling night-life and vibrant culture, with ferries sailing on the Yangtze River. The gala performance also offered a nostalgic throwback with a ballad performed by veteran local singer Feng Xiang and Steve Chou from China's Taiwan, which harked back to life by the riverside in Wuhan during the 1960s and 1970s with various distinctive elements synonymous with daily life in the city back then.

The Lhasa sub-venue's main stage, set up in front of the famous Potala Palace, offered a spectacular backdrop for the cultural showcase in one of the highest cities in the world. It featured a stunning display of traditional ethnic costumes in a grand fashion show with a rousing musical accompaniment, seamlessly blending intangible cultural heritage with folk traditions, combining both traditional and modern elements.

Known as an ancient water town that evolved into a modern city, the special gala segment in Wuxi saw its stage set up in the picturesque Jichang Garden, a classical Chinese garden built in the 16th century. This tranquil setting provided the perfect backdrop for a moving duet, as two singers harmonized under a giant full moon, one of the symbols of the Lantern Festival, with members of a Wuxi Opera troupe also appearing in their colorful costumes.

In Chongqing, the main stage was set up at the Danzishi Square, one of the best spots in the downtown area of Chongqing to enjoy the spectacular view of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers converging. With the impressive cityscape in the background, this area was turned into a vibrant and colorful lantern fair, with modern raps in the Chongqing dialect adding some spice to a city known for its hotpot and traditional folk songs sung by generations of boatmen also making a splash.

The Lantern Festival, observed on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on Feb. 12 this year, and marks the conclusion of the country's Spring Festival celebrations, which center around the Chinese New Year.

Four sub-venues serve up rich cultural feast during 2025 Lantern Festival Gala

Four sub-venues serve up rich cultural feast during 2025 Lantern Festival Gala

With dramyin lute and cymbals in hand and dressed in colorful traditional costume, 17-year-old Tenzin Norbu is among the proud youngsters in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region who have been helping preserve the centuries-old Tibetan opera, a multifaceted representative of Tibetan art and cultural heritage. Considered a living fossil of Tibetan culture, Tibetan opera is a comprehensive art combining folk songs, dance, storytelling, chant, acrobatics and religious performance. It was included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

Tenzin grew up listening to Tibetan opera along with his grandmother. The beat of the drum marked the rhythm of his childhood and quietly planted the seed of a dream.

The teenager leads a youth Tibetan opera troupe and guides his peers onto the very stage they once only dreamed of. He named it "Phudor Youth Tibetan Opera Troupe", because "Phudor" means "dream" in the Tibetan language.

"There are about 24 members in the troupe," said the teenager.

Tenzin once received a very special invitation to perform Tibetan opera for the opening ceremony of an art festival in Lhasa.

Although both their parents and teachers felt it's important for the children to be exposed to traditional culture from a young age, they didn't want it to affect their schoolwork.

The performance they were getting ready for was the first Sweet Tea House Art Festival, the troupe's very first public appearance. It's a rare opportunity for the children -- one too precious for them to pass up. But with their parents growing anxious about preparation for the performance eating into valuable study time, the children opted to rehearse in secret at weekends. Tenzin's family runs a tailor's shop. His father, who is hearing- and speech-impaired, is a superb tailor, while his mother helps him out by dealing with customers. Tenzin enjoyed Tibetan opera with his grandmother during childhood and later learned more about it from his uncle.

"Whenever I'm not feeling good, I'll take out the dramyin lute and the cymbals. When I hear the drumbeat, I get a feeling of elation that's simply indescribable," he said.

When Tenzin finally stepped onto the stage at the festival, he noticed that his parents were not in the audience. "My parents didn't have time to come to see my performance. But they always support me. They work hard every day, also for my sake. So, I'm happy whether they were here or not as long as I can keep performing Tibetan opera," said the youngster, believing that his passion for Tibetan opera will last a lifetime.

Childhood dream takes local boy onto Tibetan opera stage