Instead of having performances on a traditional indoor stage, China Media Group's 2025 Mid-Autumn Festival Gala will be performed on a main stage built on the picturesque Xuanzhu Lake in Deyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province backed by a full-scale theatrical canvas -- blurring the line between performance and landscape.
Set beneath open skies, the lakeside venue embraces real mountains, flowing water and moonlit reflections as part of the show's design language. The performance will not be made against dazzling LED screens, but within a naturally shifting panorama, allowing Chinese aesthetics to unfold in real time, according to the producers.
The gala will feature traditional festival symbols -- moon, water and family reunion -- with the application of modern staging techniques, presenting not just performances, but an emotional journey rooted in thousands of years of cultural memory.
"The stage design did more than strike me, it stunned me. When I first arrived at the set, I saw a small bridge on it, creating the feeling of a quaint bridge over flowing water. And then, there was a massive crescent 'moon' hanging high in the air, adorned by clusters of flowers," Chinese actress Zhong Chuxi told China Central Television (CCTV).
Rather than using lighting as spectacle, chief lighting designer Huang Tao describes his team's goal -- to make the lights an "inconspicuous" part of the stage.
"We hope to make the lights inconspicuous to add to the poetic beauty that we want to present. We want to make the lighting an organic part of the stage," Huang said.
The gala will be aired at the 20:00 peak viewing time on October 6 via CCTV channels and CMG's global platforms.
A traditional Chinese festival in honor of the moon and harvest, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. Every year the Chinese people celebrate the festival in diverse ways, ranging from family reunions with big feasts to public gatherings featuring traditional ceremonies, performances and Mid-Autumn galas.
CMG's 2025 Mid-Autumn gala to feature technology-enhanced beauty of natural landscapes
