CMG Mid-Autumn Festival gala blends cultural heritage with poetic imagery

China Media Group (CMG)'s Mid-Autumn Festival gala was staged at the prime viewing time on Monday night, with the first part weaving together natural landscapes, cultural heritage and lyrical nostalgia in a visually enchanting broadcast.

The annual gala broadcast, also known as "Qiuwan" in Chinese, was recorded in Deyang City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, which is home to the Sanxingdui archaeological site, hailed as one of the most significant discoveries of the 20th century.

The opening segment, "Full Moon over the Mountains," drew inspiration from the region's poetic geography. It began with "Moon over Mount Emei," a melodic adaptation of a poem by Li Bai, a renowned Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), evoking the serene image of moonlight gracing Mount Emei and flowing with the Qingxi stream toward the Three Gorges, a tribute to friendship and longing.

Set against the mist-clad hills and shimmering waters of the Xuanzhu Lake, the stage embodied a dreamlike realm where nature and art converged.

In the segment of "Bronze" -- the second performance, Chinese singer Shang Wenjie and a humanoid robot engaged in an elegant dialogue spanning millennia in Sanxingdui Museum. Iconic Sanxingdui artifacts, including the sacred bronze tree and towering bronze figure, served as a stunning backdrop, merging the mystique of ancient Shu civilization dating back more than 3,000 years with futuristic technology in a seamless, immersive spectacle.

The segment also featured a medley of heartfelt songs such as "The Moon Represents My Heart" and "Stand by Me," alongside tributes to moonlit imagery in classic Chinese cinema, celebrating both the universal resonance of the festival and its profound cultural roots.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It is one of the most important holidays and celebrations in Chinese culture, symbolizing family reunion, wholeness and gratitude for the harvest. This year, the festival fell on Monday.

China launched a Long March-8A carrier rocket on Tuesday in the southern island province of Hainan, sending a new group of internet satellites into space.

The rocket lifted off at 23:25 (Beijing Time) from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site. It successfully placed the payloads, the 18th group of low-orbit internet satellites, into preset orbit.