CMG 2025 Spring Festival Gala gets underway in Beijing

The 2025 Spring Festival Gala, an annual televised celebration hosted by the China Media Group (CMG), got underway at 20:00 Tuesday (Beijing Time), on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

The widely anticipated show features a variety of exciting performances, including singing, dancing, comedy sketches, opera, martial arts and magic tricks.

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CMG 2025 Spring Festival Gala gets underway in Beijing

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CMG 2025 Spring Festival Gala gets underway in Beijing

In addition to the main stage in Beijing, four sub-venues have been set up across the country in Chongqing Municipality, Wuhan City in Hubei Province, Lhasa City in Xizang Autonomous Region, and Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province.

Themed "Year of the Snake, Keep Your Spirit Awake," this year's gala, a blend of traditional culture with modern elements, offers both a vibrant celebration of the past and an exciting glimpse into the future, reinforcing its important role in connecting Chinese people worldwide.

As the first CMG Spring Festival Gala since the festival's inscription on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the gala has integrated more elements of intangible cultural heritage to create a cultural feast for global audiences.

The gala, also known as "Chunwan", was first broadcast back in 1983 and is seen as a major cultural symbol for the traditional Spring Festival celebrations in China.

Recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's most-watched annual TV program, the hours-long television extravaganza attracts over a billion views every year.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, falls on Jan 29 this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake.

A rare solar halo spectacle appeared over Wuxi County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Friday morning.

The unusual phenomenon is caused by light refracting through ice crystals in thin patches of cloud.

With the sky originally clear, residents soon noticed a complete, ring-shaped halo forming around the sun, creating an effect that looked as though the sun had been adorned with a brilliant "colorful necklace."

The solar halo remained visible for nearly one hour before gradually faded, creating a dreamy and breathtaking view.