You're listening to Roundtable.
I'm Steve Hatherly today with Feifei and Yuxin.
Coming up, forget the ball drop, forget the fireworks in a way.
The world's biggest viewing party happens here.
One show, one night, one billion eyes.
That sounds like a line from a movie trailer and I guess it kind of is, because the Spring Festival Gala is not just entertainment.
This is a cultural force.
It bridges centuries, it bends genres, and somehow keeps the country on the edge of its seat.
This is the phenomenon, if you don't know, you have to know.
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And now...
The dumplings are steaming, the group chats are exploding and, somewhere in the background, one of the most watched TV shows on Earth is about to begin.
I'm talking about the one night when hundreds of millions of people press play at the exact same time a night. when tradition meets tech, when grandparents and Gen Alpha somehow agree on what to watch together, and when a TV broadcast turns into a shared national memory. it's not just about one stage in beijing though it's about a cultural marathon that stretches across cities it's about a celebration that's equal parts nostalgia and next level innovation it's a show that asks how far can our spectacle go how inclusive can one performance become and how does one night of entertainment reflect the mood of an entire country stepping into a new year.
Now, if you're listening to me and you're thinking, geez, Steve, stop being so dramatic.
It's just a TV show.
My response to that is no, no, this is not just a TV show.
That would be the understatement of the century.
I'm talking about the Spring Festival Gala.
Yeah, actually, for Chinese people, Chinese families, that's exactly what Steve just illustrated.
So for the Chinese families all over the world, Spring Festival Gala is much more than just a TV show.
It's a deeply cherished tradition and also a powerful cultural event that brings everyone together on the most important night of the year at the same time actually, because everything's on live.
So it's become a common memory that spans generations, especially as it evolves to include more content that resonates with younger viewers.
For those living abroad, seeing the gala or even just the promotional clips can be an emotional experience as well, and making them feel the warmth of their homeland at a connection to their families back in China.
For sure, this is one of the.
I mean, I don't know if there's another television event on the planet that gets more viewers.
I can't imagine because that was not an exaggeration when I said a billion viewers.
The numbers last year, I think, were something like 990 million or so.
It was something around there.
And I looked at that number and I was like, wait, what?
What?
It is.
It's a massive event and it's so deeply connected to Chinese culture.
Yeah, and basically on every i think it's pretty much every year at 8 pm on the chinese new year's eve's night, every pretty much every home.
As long as they have some kind of a tablet or tv station in their home, they'll turn on the tv and start play this spring festival gala, and either you are currently in China or in another country, because it's also put online, for example, not only on the television channels, but also online on mobile apps.
So for Chinese people who are not living in China currently, they can still catch up on the show.
So it's more, the number is, I think, is astronomical.
It's beyond measurement on some level.
So this year it's always exciting to find out.
I guess you know what the theme of the gala is going to be.
The theme this year is galloping steed onward unstoppable.
It's the year of the horse, of course.
It's built around the concept of qiji, an ancient term of a legendary thousand mile steed.
That symbolizes a pioneering spirit, and There's also a clever bit of wordplay here.
The word 奇迹 sounds just like the Chinese word for miracle.
This is meant to show that the nation's confidence in creating new wonders for the next generation.
Five years as it also enters the 15th five year plan period.
So, yes, of course, the main venue, it's the heart of the show is here in Beijing.
But the gala, the show bounces off. all around the country.
Yes.
And this year there are four cities, in particular in Harbin, in northeast China's Hengyang province, which is known for its ice and snow world.
And then also in Yiwu, in east China's Zhejiang province, which is also known for the world, the international market.
The market, yeah.
And also Hefei in east China's Anhui province and Yibing in Sichuan province.
So, apart from having the stage in Beijing, we can see some of the local specialties in these four places.
For example, in Harbin, they blend their ice and snow landscapes with really advanced technology.
And they're also embodying their rich folk customs in the northeastern part of China and with a strong international appeal.
And also for Yiwu.
I think a lot of people would know this is a major small commodity base for the world.
And then when it comes to Hefei, which is, I would say, a little bit less well known compared to the other two,
But it also has a very profound cultural heritage of the ancient Luzhou.
So they will also incorporate their local opera performances and also other traditional charms.
And also He Fei is known for his science and technology development as well.
Artificial Sun is developed in this particular city.
And lastly, when it comes to Yibin, it has a lot of names.
It's called the first city on the Yangtze River.
It's also called the City of Liquor.
It's also China's bamboo capital.
And it is also the capital of power batteries.
So we can see a lot of things, both traditional and modern, happen in Eden.
So when they And the way, If you've not seen the gala on television before, they'll have a performance in Beijing, for example.
And it's on a stage and it's very, very, very grand.
There are a lot of performers.
And then, all of a sudden, the scene will switch and it switches to a feed which is also live in a different city.
So for example, this year one will be in Harbin and right on cue without missing a beat.
The production is amazing.
The scale of the production, they will start their performances there.
And if it holds true this year, and I'm sure it will last year when I watched I forget where the other performances were from, but each city they put on their own flavor right of performance, so you get an opportunity to see what they want to showcase through their Spring Gala Festival portion of the show.
It feels like every year the Spring Festival Gala is breaking records.
It's not only about the records of the viewers, but also about the technology and the enhancement that they're using.
What are they doing this year?
They're bringing things to a whole new level with their technology.
That feels like it's straight out of a sci-fi movie.
China Media Group is going all in on AI plus Ultra HD plus 5G to make the experience totally immersive.
So extended reality or XR stage design is, first of all, one thing.
And they also use AI-generated imagery.
And XR to blur the lines between the physical stage and digital world.
I don't understand.
When you're watching this on TV, basically, of course, you cannot see that in the venue.
But when you're watching it on TV, you can see maybe a very strong horse.
A thousand horses.
Yeah, galloping towards you or something.
That's what I'm guessing.
Yeah, that's true.
We don't even know it yet, do we?
Yeah.
And also speaking of technology.
Humanoid robots is something that is really interesting and attracted a lot of attention last year.
Yeah, last year they had the dancing robots, right, with the spinning.
They used fans, I believe, like the fan dance.
Is that what they did?
Or a little piece of cloth.
Was it just cloths?
Yeah.
That's a traditional, like, northeastern dance style.
Okay, okay.
But this year wow, they're just not only just standing there and dance.
They probably will have more programmed moves and powered by sophisticated AI models.
So I'm expecting that to maybe talk to other performers.
I'm guessing that because they are collaborating with like large language models and as well.
So I and I think it is truly an opportunity for audiences. across China and also even the world to witness the development of humanoid robots because we actually witnessed the progress right we saw them last year and then we can see them this year that was a huge talking point last year after the gala was over everybody was talking about these dancing robots and i don't think we have to speculate that oh it'll be something more impressive this year of course it's going to be something more impressive this year they have to up the game right they set the bar last year and they're it's i'm i'm really looking forward to seeing what the robots do this In some concerts this year, last year in 2025, actually, they start to do backflips on stage.
So I would expect them to do some backflips as well on the gala stage.
And that reminds me of about 10, 15, 20 years ago when I watched the Spring Festival Gala.
What did it used to be like?
It definitely don't have robots.
That's for sure.
And when it comes to the performances, of course, it had a lot of performers like now.
But when it comes to the design of the stage, it's much simpler.
Simply because for now, for example, we don't have AI-generated imageries.
So even for, for example, for the Year of the House horse, we won't be able to see a thousand horse galloping on the stage.
Sure.
Either they bring up real horses, which would be very dangerous, I would assume.
Or they put on some of the fake horses on the stage, which is definitely not as high tech as currently.
And also in the past, I think the main venue would just be in Beijing.
So in the past, going to the venue and watching the gala in person is more hot sought after in the past.
Because you get to see the stage, the performances and experience the sounds and the lights yourself.
But now I would assume...
I would compare you know if I'm watching it on TV with all the AI generated imageries with the flowerings blossoming all over the stage.
Maybe AI generated horses galloping?
Watching from the TV or online would be the primary choices.
People of the grandparents' generation must just feel like, whoa.
I mean, this started back in the early 80s.
And it's totally, completely different, of course, from what it used to be.
There's going to be some interactions during the broadcast as well.
You can use an app.
What app is that?
You can participate in a few different rounds of interactions.
Yeah.
So, on AI apps, first of all, you can interact with the whole show and you can get several rounds of, I think lotteries, because you can get some, Win some prizes.
Yeah, win some prizes.
And also, speaking of interaction...
For the first time, the galley is also teaming up with the video platform Bilibili, which means you can watch the show with a huge group of people in real time and you can talk with them with that function called Twitch.
It's kind of a real-time bullet comments also sort of floating on the screen, across the screen.
Oh okay um, from what i understand sorry to interrupt you should um, from what i understand, the gala always tries to be inclusive, always tries to make sure that it's not just celebrities who are on stage but people are accurately represented.
And this time around, there's going to be a major youth infusion, too.
This year, the Spring Festival Gali is also making a huge leap to ensure that everyone, regardless of their physical abilities, can join the celebration.
And it's all part of an effort to create what organizers call people's gala, where love is barrier free, because they have a dedicated special version, um accessible version on the channel cctv 15, which is the national music channel, and they will have that special sign full sign language version and also enhanced audio version to actually describe for our audiences everything that is happening on the stage, no matter it's about the costume, the scene changes, the lighting and everything, so you can have a better understanding on what happened on on the uh, on the stage at the, in real time and you don't have to ask your like relatives or family members saying uh, what's happening?
Yeah, you don't have to guess yeah, internationally too.
This isn't just a domestic event.
English Spanish French, Arabic and Russian channels of CGTN, along with 85 foreign language communication platforms, will cooperate with more than 3300 media outlets in 200 countries and regions around the world to broadcast and report on the gala.
You can be literally anywhere on the planet, it seems like, and be able to catch this show, which is really cool.
Yushin.
We should mention as well I mean, I feel like we buried the lead here that one of the stars of Roundtable Yushun is going to be one of the stars of the gala as well.
Tell us quickly, please.
Yeah, so there's also going to be a special version from CGTN.
It's called Super Night, along with the Spring Festival Gala.
We will share some of the shows as well on Spring Festival Gala and prepare some special performances specifically for the Super Night.
And the hosts from various CGTN channels will share heartfelt New Year wishes, creating a warm and also inclusive atmosphere for everyone.
So what is your role exactly?
Do you even know yet?
You will be on television.
You will know when is the time.
Oh, look at you.
You're teasing us with it.
Hey, congratulations on that.
That's really cool for you.
Fei Fei, you'll be watching along at home, I guess?
Definitely.
With Yushun on Super Night.
I will definitely stay tuned and watching what Yushun will bring us about the Spring Festival tradition or some information about the gala itself, I would assume.
Can't wait to watch it.
I watched all five hours.
Five hours?
I watched it from start to finish.
Wow.
And I'll be doing it again this year.
That's my new favorite TV show, I think.
I hope that you can enjoy the gala as well.
That'll do it for Roundtable 4 today.
Thank you very much for being with us this afternoon.
Thanks to Yushan and Fei-Fei.
I'm Steve.
Have a great one, and we'll see you next time.
