Adorable snake dances in CMG promo video marking 10 days to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

China Media Group (CMG) kicked off the final countdown to the 2025 Spring Festival Gala with the release of a charming animated promotional video on Saturday, marking just 10 days until the grand show airs on January 28, the eve of Chinese New Year.

The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is China's most cherished traditional celebration, uniting families across the country in joyous festivities.

As the Year of the Snake approaches, the gala unveiled its official mascot "Si Shengsheng." Drawing inspiration from a 3,000-year-old bronze snake, the mascot has a round head and serpentine body, resembling the character "si" in the oracle bone script, which stands for snake in the Chinese zodiac.

An animated Si Shengsheng puts on a playful performance in the video, capering with a large persimmon, a symbol of good luck and longevity which often has a place at Chinese New Year celebrations.

In a remarkable milestone, UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in late 2024, officially recognizing the global significance of this vibrant tradition.

Initiated in 1983, CMG's annual Spring Festival Gala has become an iconic part of the Chinese New Year celebration, drawing hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide with its star-studded performances. The gala is a rich mix of comedy skits, songs and dances, acrobatics, and magic acts.

On Friday, the 2025 Spring Festival Gala concluded its third rehearsal. For the first time, sub-venues in Chongqing Municipality, Wuhan of Hubei Province, Lhasa of Xizang Autonomous Region, and Wuxi of Jiangsu Province made their appearances, joining the main venue in Beijing for a combined rehearsal.

More than four decades since its inception, the gala, also known as "Chunwan" in Chinese, has evolved beyond a mere television show. It represents a nationally shared experience, a collective memory, and its evolution is in many ways representative of China's wider technological growth and social development.

Adorable snake dances in CMG promo video marking 10 days to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

Adorable snake dances in CMG promo video marking 10 days to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

Adorable snake dances in CMG promo video marking 10 days to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

Adorable snake dances in CMG promo video marking 10 days to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

Adorable snake dances in CMG promo video marking 10 days to 2025 Spring Festival Gala

Retired American teacher Ronald Sakolsky has shared his emotions at being able to enjoy a "dream" reunion with Chinese desert-control pioneer Yin Yuzhen, after the pair met to reflect on their desertification-control efforts a whole 27 years after their first encounter.

The remarkable story stretches all the way back to 1999, when Sakolsky was teaching English at a school in central China's Henan Province under a teachers' exchange program between the U.S. and China.

After watching a television news report featuring the tireless work of Yin, he was deeply moved and raised 5,000 U.S. dollars to help Yin and her husband in their afforestation efforts against desertification in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Months later, at the invitation of local officials, Sakolsky traveled to the desert to meet Yin in person. In a symbolic gesture, Yin kept one dollar as a souvenir of Sakolsky's kindness, while she also bought 50,000 saplings to plant.

After that brief visit deep in the heart of the expansive Mu Us Desert, the two lost touch and their transcontinental friendship faded with time.

But, in an incredible twist, that all changed earlier this year, when a public campaign across Chinese social media successfully tracked down the now 69-year-old Sakolsky in the United States.

The renewed connection quickly led to an online clamor for the pair to have a long-overdue reunion, and finally Sakolsky arrived in Ordos City on Sunday to once again meet Yin in person.

In a touching interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Sakolsky could not hide his joy at this dream meeting becoming a reality, as he said the unexpected get together felt very different to how he had imagined it.

"It's definitely different, because I can touch her. In my imagination, it is just in my head. But I can touch her, I can hug her, and I can watch her cry and cry with her. I say it's a miracle because nobody could tell me that I would ever come to China in 1999. Definitely nobody could tell me that I would be back in China in 2026. But when you can touch your dream, it becomes a reality. It's not a dream anymore. So these last two days have been reality for me," said Sakolsky.

Seated next to him, Yin highlighted the importance of always keeping one's promises, no matter how long has passed.

"I believe that first, you have to be a good person, and then you can do things well," she said.

The passage of time between their first meeting is poignantly seen in the land cultivated by Yin. The small swathe of green she started over a quarter of a century ago has now expanded to more than 8 million trees, covering more than 11,000 acres of once-barren land.

US teacher shares emotion at "dream" reunion with Chinese desert-control pioneer