German and Nepali attendees were fascinated as they viewed a video promoting the 2025 Spring Festival Gala, screened at cultural events in their respective countries.
The Spring Festival Gala, also known as "Chunwan" in Chinese, has been an annual tradition since 1983. A grand Chinese Lunar New Year celebration presented by China Media Group (CMG), it airs live each year on the eve of the holiday.
The Spring Festival, which marks the start of a new year on the Chinese lunar calendar, is the biggest annual holiday in China when people across the country return to their hometowns for celebrations and family reunions. This year, it falls on Jan 29, ushering in a Year of the Snake.
At a promotional event for the 2025 Spring Festival Gala held in Munich, Germany, on Sunday, both the Gala's promotional video and another for "China's Intangible Cultural Heritage," a cultural program by CMG, were presented, offering guests a deep dive into the unique charm and rich heritage of Chinese culture.
"Events like today's are crucial as they help people better understand China's rich and diverse traditions. I believe the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s recognition of the Spring Festival is significant. I wish everyone prosperity, success, health and happiness in the coming year," said Eric Beisswenger, State Minister for European and International Affairs of Bavaria.
In December 2024, UNESCO inscribed the Spring Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
"The Spring Festival marks the joyous start of the new year for all of us. We look forward to even closer cooperation between Europe and China in the future," said Markus Wittmann, ministerial director of the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The promotional videos were also shown for the first time on the same day at Munich Airport, Germany's second-busiest airport, which handles around 40 million passenger trips annually.
The China Cultural Center in Nepal hosted a Spring Festival garden party, where guests explored traditional Chinese culture, including calligraphy and paper cutting, and also took part in a unique Chinese language class at the Spring Festival Gala's promotional booth.
"I am so happy to be here today. China's Spring Festival is so lively! I hope to visit different parts of China when I grow up. The Spring Festival is approaching, and the traditional culture is amazing," said a Nepali primary school student.
"I am really fascinated by our neighbor country's programs and all. This is so fascinating, I cannot believe it's [this doll] so cute. This thing is so cute and little for me," said a local middle school student as she held a stuffed snake doll.

Promo for CMG Spring Festival Gala screened in Germany, Nepal

Promo for CMG Spring Festival Gala screened in Germany, Nepal