2025 Lantern Festival Gala fusion of traditional, modern cultural elements

The upcoming China Media Group (CMG) 2025 Lantern Festival Gala is set to captivate audience with a seamless fusion of traditional culture and modern elements, staging a unique and vibrant celebration that honors the past while embracing the future.

This year's Lantern Festival Gala will be aired on Wednesday evening. The show will weave together the rich tapestry of China's cultural heritage with contemporary flair, producing a series of performances that resonate with both the ancient charm and modern vibrancy of the festival. One standout performance will be the song "A Rite of Passage", which artfully combines traditional opera vocal techniques with modern pop music. This piece not only celebrates the timeless tradition of the coming-of-age ceremony, but also showcases the vitality and sense of responsibility of today's youth.

Yu Lei, chief director of the gala, emphasized that traditional cultural elements have always been a focal point of their creative efforts.

"Traditional culture-themed programs have always been at the center of our creation. From the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival, the momentum of cultural innovation remains strong. The program reflects such an ethos where young talents from diverse artistic fields come together, inspired by the profound essence of traditional Chinese culture, and grow from youth to adulthood, to people who can contribute to the nation," Yu said.

The dance "Qilin" will bring to life the majestic presence of the mythical creature, as performers in elegant costumes exude confidence and grace, reminiscent of the distinguished demeanor described in the "Book of Songs".

In addition to the main stage in Beijing, musicians from sub-stages of Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, Wuhan City in central China, Lhasa City in southwest China, and Wuxi City in east China will perform simultaneously in unison a traditional Chinese musical piece via a virtual ensemble.

The traditional Chinese music piece is named "Gong Shang Jue Zhi Yu", which refers to the five musical notes that rise in pitch. It will be played with nine traditional Chinese instruments such as the sheng, flute, and guqin. This performance is meant to showcase the depth of China's 5,000-year-old civilization and wish for a year filled with blessings and abundance.

The gala will be broadcast live by CMG channels, such as CCTV-1 and CCTV-3, new media platforms as well as several radio frequencies starting from 20:00 Wednesday.

China's foreign exchange reserves stood at 3.4105 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of April 2026, up 68.4 billion dollars, or 2.05 percent, from the end of March, official data showed on Thursday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange noted that in April, the U.S. dollar index declined, while prices of major global financial assets saw mixed performances, influenced by the macroeconomic data, as well as monetary policies and expectations of major economies.

The combined effects of exchange rate conversion and changes in asset prices led to a increase in China's foreign exchange reserves during the month, the administration said.

China's economy registered steady and improving performance during the period, featuring resilient and dynamic development. Its steady performance provided solid support for keeping the scale of the country's foreign exchange reserves basically stable, according to the administration.