At 20:00 on February 16, China Central Radio and Television Station's "2026 Spring Festival Gala", a "happy, auspicious and joyful" cultural feast, arrived as scheduled. The entire evening party went smoothly with climaxes one after another, integrating cultural flavor, technological sense and international style into a touching "New Year Movement", accompanying Chinese and overseas friends around the world to spend the Chinese Year of reunion, beauty and high-spirited progress.
According to preliminary statistics, as of 24:00 on February 16, the all-media live broadcast of China Central Radio and Television Station's "2026 Spring Festival Gala" has reached a total of 677 million users, and the number of live on-demand broadcasts on new media has been 13.5 billion times. The total number of live video broadcasts played by the main station's own client reached 578 million times, an increase of 53.39 million times compared with last year. The mentions of the Spring Festival Gala related to new productivity accounted for 23.78%, an increase of 8.88 times compared with the same period last year. The cumulative proportion of young people’s all-media live broadcasts reached 43.7%, a year-on-year increase of 10%.
Overseas influence further expanded. The Spring Festival Gala has been launched in nearly 4,000 overseas media outlets, a year-on-year increase of 37.95%. The number of live video views on CCTV’s overseas social platforms reached 87.29 million times, a year-on-year increase of nearly 20%.
The most melodious melody of the Spring Festival Gala comes from the Chinese context that has been passed down from generation to generation. "The Beginning of Spring" sings the renewal and vitality of everything in the poetic spring scenery. The creative singing show "Hello to the Flower Gods" and "Twelve Flower Gods" take the audience to travel through different time and space, and immerse themselves in the seasonal rhythms and oriental connotations of the changing seasons. The dancers who came from the thousand-year-old murals recreate the meandering music and dance of Feitian in "Ancient Rhythm of the Silk Road". In the opera "Spring Light Full of the Liyuan", four generations of old, middle-aged, young and old sang on the same stage. Peking Opera, Henan Opera, Yue Opera, Cantonese Opera and Ping Opera gathered together to showcase the flourishing art of opera.
In Chinese culture, the horse is a symbol of strength and self-improvement, indicating a steady and prosperous future. Zhou Shen and the children of the Chinese national family sang and told the story of Ji Liang, the divine horse that travels thousands of miles in a day and can ride on the wind in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". The song "Galloping Hailiu Horse" takes the audience to appreciate the endless vitality of the vast grassland in the melodious and long intangible cultural heritage Baerhu tune.
The humanoid robot once again appeared on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, transforming into a "martial arts master" in "Martial Arts BOT". One move is as strong as a pine tree, and the other is as agile as the wind. The hard-core strength of China's intelligent manufacturing blends with the millennium charm of Chinese martial arts. Performers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong and Macao, including Jordan Chan, Yan Chengxu, Luo Jiahao and Yi Yangqianxi, sang "Intelligence Makes the Future" together, singing about the wonderful future that is already here and that technology empowers a better life.
Cai Ming and Wang Tianfang presented the sketch "Grandma's Favorite", focusing on the integration of robots into family life scenes. The intertwining of laughter and misunderstandings hides the most sincere love and longing between grandparents and grandchildren. The comedy short "You Must Like" uses a relaxed and humorous way to interpret the state of "getting more and more popular" in the digital age, triggering thinking about the "interesting" and "meaningful" of social media products.
In the song "Mom Has a Cinema", the child's growth moments are played frame by frame, becoming an exclusive screening that will never end in the years. In "Resonance in the World", Li Jian expressed his feelings about the mountains and rivers and the rareness of good friends. In "The Moment You and I Experience", Faye Wong expressed the precious fate of meeting and knowing each other and the warmth of mutual illumination in a century-long river. Hu Defu, Xin Xiaoqi, Yi Nengjing, Zhou Chuanxiong, Su Youpeng, Patty Hou, Ouyang Nana, and Chen Linong presented the suite "Treasure Island Love Song". The melodious melody crosses the strait, and the blood of the same origin resonates in every note.
The Spring Festival Gala is a grand gathering of strivers from all walks of life, and it is also a vivid expression of ordinary people’s lives. Under the innovation and creation of New Popular Literature and Art, Wang Zhengliang, Wang Sulong, and Li Xian joined hands with representatives of Chinese winners of the World Skills Competition to present the micro-musical "Every Light" to pay tribute to every struggler in ordinary positions. In "Come and Enjoy the Autumn", Phoenix Legend and the Farmers' Choir of Dachazhan Town, Zhongning County, Zhongwei City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, sang harvest songs on the same stage, turning the sweat in the fields into the joy of harvest and showing off the power of laborers' hard work.
"Is this spring rain? This is not spring rain. This is nourishment at the right time and awakens the vitality of all things." The peasant poet "Yimeng Second Sister" Lu Yuxia poetically announced the curtain. A "Happy Rain" outlined the natural beauty of "good rain knows the season". Cai Yanfei, a flower breeding researcher who cultivated the "China Core" rose, and "dream chasers" such as representatives of Chinese winners of the World Skills Competition, used simple words to wish that flowers will bloom in China, the warehouses will be full, and the world will be happy.
The military song "I'm With You in the Battle Position" is surging and sonorous, with a solemn oath to stand up as the steel backbone to defend the motherland. The song "Searching for Dreams in Mountains and Seas" sings the courage and confidence of marching forward, paying tribute to the prosperous new era.
The spirit of the New Year is in full swing, the festive atmosphere of the New Year continues to spread, and Kyushu is singing and celebrating together. The Heilongjiang Harbin branch venue sang "Ice and Snow Warm the World", showing the enthusiasm and generosity of the "old Northeast" and the unique warmth of the ice and snow; the Zhejiang Yiwu branch venue celebrated the "World Yiwu Chinese Year", Jackie Chan and Lionel Richie and other multinational artists sang the same song, and the notes flowed with Yiwu's hot enthusiasm for "making friends all over the world"; Anhui Hefei branch venue Intangible cultural heritage elements such as Huangmei Opera, Huizhou Three Sculptures, and Hand-dragon Dance were integrated into "The Rhythm of the Yangtze and Huaihe River". Low-altitude aircraft and ground performances formed a "matrix of heaven and earth", highlighting the majestic momentum of moving toward the new. The Sichuan Yibin branch venue opened with a lively folklore activity "Spring Drinks", with people singing joyfully on the three rivers and six banks, and the glimmer of light merged into a star river, outlining a happy picture of the cities on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Across mountains and seas, dancing to the beat. American singer John Legend and French singer Elaine Hollais brought the classics "My Everything" and "Beauty and the Beast", which will last forever.
The dance "Treading on the Ground for a Festival" brings together dance steps from all directions, including the clog dance of the Hani people, the "Achi wood scraping" of the Lisu people, the Spanish flamenco, and the traditional Hungarian dance Leganesh. They dance to the sound of the neat steps on the ground to pray for a bountiful new year. The Chinese and Austrian acrobatic troupes jointly presented the creative acrobatics "Painting the New Year". Diabolo shaking and juggling stick throwing combined with trajectory capture and imaging technology used light as a pen to draw gorgeous light and shadow, spreading New Year blessings to all directions.
New ideas bloom in the context, science and technology add color, warmth guards the world, pay tribute to the struggle of you and me, Jiuzhou celebrates and sings together, beauty and harmony resonate, China Central Radio and Television Station's "2026 Spring Festival Gala" allows the audience to appreciate the glory of the times in the ultimate presentation of the audio-visual feast, paint a magnificent picture together, and rush to the vibrant spring together!
"Guangming Daily" (Page 02, February 17, 2026)
