A series of high-tech equipment helped the Lhasa sub-venue of the 2025 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala present a rich tapestry of performances to global audiences, as the stage on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in far west China showcased spectacular ethnic features, intangible cultural heritages and folk traditions.
The Lhasa sub-venue's main stage was set up in front of the famous Potala Palace in Lhasa, a 1,300-year-old ancient city situated on a snow-covered plateau and one of the highest cities in the world.
The Spring Festival Gala is a Chinese New Year special produced by the CMG. It is broadcast annually on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year on its flagship CCTV-1 and internationally through the China Global Television Network. The Gala has the largest audience of any entertainment show in the world, and is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's most watched television program.
This year's gala, which broadcasted live on Tuesday night, the eve of the 2025 Chinese New Year, featured four sub-venues in addition to the main stage in Beijing, namely Lhasa City in the Xizang Autonomous Region, Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, Wuhan City in Hubei Province in central China, and Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province in east China.
The performances in Lhasa seamlessly blended intangible cultural heritages with folk traditions, combining both traditional and modern elements.
The spectacular presentation was enhanced by high-tech equipment with a 3D ropeway shooting system independently developed by the CMG helping catching and broadcasting series of breathtaking scenes to television viewers.
"We used a drone backed by the 3D ropeway system nicknamed 'flying cat' to shoot the scenes of the firework display at the Lhasa sub-venue of the Spring Festival Gala, reflecting the burning firework rising from the ground and exploding in midair. The shooting utilized virtual and visual effects to fit with television broadcasting," said Cao Yuning, executive director of the Lhasa sub-venue.
The director's team also applied other cutting-edge equipment, including augmented reality technology, on the plateau venue, with the crew members saying they intended to achieve ideal virtual effects through technology.
"We applied four sets of virtual effect video recording equipment at the Lhasa sub-venue, more than at the other three sub-venues of the Spring Festival Gala, to convey the show's ideas through technology," said Zhou Lei, head of technology at the Lhasa sub-venue.
The performance on the plateau venue also accentuated the visual effects of ethnic culture and the folk arts of Xizang, highlighting colorful song singing and dance performance, and intangible cultural heritage.
"The girls danced with the Reba Drum. Some dancers carried the drum on their back like a snail. The boys danced carrying Simazhuo on their shoulder, which is a drum like a lollipop. The Zhuo Dance uses waist drum. Performance at the Lhasa sub-venue features a series of joyous drum dances," said Ma Yuhan, program director of the Lhasa sub-venue.
High-tech equipment highlights culture, folk arts at Spring Festival Gala
