Chinese, Peruvian artists captivate audience at Spring Festival Gala with collision of cultures

Chinese and Peruvian artists shared the stage to deliver a special song during the China Media Group (CMG)'s 2025 Spring Festival Gala, leaving audiences in awe through a delightful collision of cultures.

The performance was one of the many cultural highlights staged during the hours-long variety show which was broadcast live on Tuesday night on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

Four artists, including Chinese singer Zhou Shen, Peruvian operatic tenor Juan Diego Florez, Chinese suona musician Niu Jiandang and Peruvian pan flute artist Lucho Quequezana, together graced the stage to perform the musical number which drew on influences from both countries.

The performance blended a traditional Chinese folk song from the northwestern Shaanxi Province called "Lan Huahua", or 'orchid', and a popular Peruvian orchestral musical piece called "El Condor Pasa," which has been recognized as part of Peru's national cultural heritage.

Viewers were treated to the sounds of two traditional instruments from both countries, creating a cross-cultural fusion stretching across the Pacific Ocean.

After the Spring Festival's recent inscription on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, this year's gala show has integrated more elements of intangible cultural heritage, creating a cultural feast for global audiences.

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 Wednesday this year, ushering in the Year of the Snake.

Ties between China and Peru have deepened in recent times, with the opening of Peru's Chancay Port, an important infrastructure project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which was inaugurated during President Xi Jinping's visit to Peru in November, standing as testament to the strong relationship between the two sides.

Chinese, Peruvian artists captivate audience at Spring Festival Gala with collision of cultures

Chinese, Peruvian artists captivate audience at Spring Festival Gala with collision of cultures

China and Canada should work together to promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng said in Beijing on Friday.

He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while attending the Canada-China Trade and Investment Banquet together with the visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Speaking at the event, He said that under the strategic guidance of the important consensus reached by their leaders, China and Canada should adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation, and mutual success, and jointly promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

China is steadfastly expanding high-standard opening up, continuously developing new quality productive forces, and is willing to work with countries around the world, including Canada, to create new prospects for cooperation, said He.

Carney noted at the banquet that China is Canada's second-largest trading partner and said Canada looks forward to strengthening high-level exchanges with China, making full use of dialogue mechanisms in areas such as the economy and trade, and deepening cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy and other fields.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a four-day official visit to China, marking the first trip to the country by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.

China, Canada should work together for stable, healthy, sustainable economic ties: Vice Premier