Over 30 types of traditional operas to showcase at 2025 Spring Festival Chinese Opera Gala

Over 30 different types of traditional operas will be showcased at the 2025 Spring Festival Chinese Opera Gala, the China Media Group (CMG) announced at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

The gala was recorded in an ancient county seat of Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

The main stage of the gala was designed to capture the enchanting ambiance of the ancient county seat of Taiyuan, with the architecture serving as a natural backdrop for the performances.

The production team also utilized drone aerial footage and outdoor scenes to seamlessly integrate the stage with the city's iconic landmarks, such as the Yingze Bridge, and the Shanxi Provincial Museum, immersing the audience in the timeless beauty of Chinese opera.

"This gala blends Taiyuan's cultural characteristics with the rich narratives of traditional opera. With the application of advanced stage artistry, it promises to be both innovative and stylish. We also hope that through this gala, more audiences will gain a deeper understanding of Chinese opera and develop a love for it," said Xie Tao, Vice President of the China Theatre Association.

This year's gala has brought together nearly 80 opera troupes from across the country, showcasing more than 30 different types of traditional opera in 14 performances.

The star-studded lineup features renowned artists, up-and-coming performers, as well as crossover singers and actors, all coming together to showcase the rich tapestry of China's vibrant operatic heritage.

"This gala brings together opera art from across the country and various ethnic groups, showcasing the long history and brilliance of our opera culture through wonderful arias, exceptional plays, and outstanding performances," said Wang Kui, director of the Opera Research Institute at the Chinese National Academy of Arts.

The gala will be first aired across multiple CMG channels, including CCTV-1, CCTV-11, and new media platforms at 20:00 on Jan. 30. In addition, a series of new media programs about the gala also will be aired during the holiday.

The Spring Festival is the grandest traditional festival in China and an occasion for family reunion. It falls on Jan 29 this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake, the 6th of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese Zodiac.

Over 30 types of traditional operas to showcase at 2025 Spring Festival Chinese Opera Gala

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight