CMG to hold 4th rehearsal for 2026 Spring Festival Gala

China

CMG to hold 4th rehearsal for 2026 Spring Festival Gala

2026-02-08 13:24 Last Updated At：02-09 00:37

China Media Group (CMG), the country's national broadcaster, is to hold the fourth rehearsal for its 2026 Spring Festival Gala on Sunday, the most-watched annual television show in China to mark the Chinese New Year.

The annual extravaganza, also known as "Chunwan," is a cherished part of the Spring Festival celebrations in hundreds of millions of Chinese homes. Blending music, dance, comedy and drama, it celebrates family reunion and national pride and will be broadcast live worldwide on Chinese New Year's Eve, which falls on Feb 16 this year.

Themed on horse in celebrating the Year of the Horse, the gala this year aims to highlight family reunion and optimism while showcasing China's cultural vitality, the organizer said.

"This is my ninth time performing in CMG Spring Festival Gala. The gala this year is very immersive, and it's a meaningful program that allows more people to take part in," said Liu Tao, an actress.

"Our show is very refreshing this time. Audience will sense a kind of hope and expectation for 2026 after watching the show," said Rayza Alimjan, another actress.

This year's gala features an expanded use of technologies in stage design and performance to enrich the festive atmosphere and imagination of the Chinese New Year.

"I think the biggest highlight this year is the integration of technology. For example, I will interact with a robot during the show, and the robot will perform as well and it can engage with us. Each Spring Festival Gala brings us a leap forward in how technology is applied," said Qin Hailu, also an actress.

"I was amazed when I entered the studio. The wisdom of all the staff, both onstage and behind the scenes, together with the use of advanced technologies, has created a scene that feels completely new and truly deserving of praise," said Liu Mintao, an actress.

The Spring Festival Gala has been broadcast live annually since 1983. It has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched annual television program worldwide. Just over a year ago, the Spring Festival itself was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Police deploy 24-hour drone patrols during football matches in south China's Shenzhen

Police in Shenzhen City of south China's Guangdong Province have deployed 24-hour drone patrols around the Shenzhen Sports Center to enhance public safety control during the 2026 Chinese Super League season.

The Shenzhen Xinpengcheng Football Club has officially made the Shenzhen Sports Center its home ground for the 2026 Chinese Super League season. Football matches have attracted more than 10,000 fans per match, leading to intense crowd density and severe traffic congestion, which places immense pressure on security.

Amid the excitement of tens of thousands, the calmest "guards" aren't in the stands, but stationed over 100 meters above, in the sky.

Before a match began, police officer Wang Yiyuan and two teammates would be already deployed with well-defined roles: one would pilot the drones, another would keep an eye on the spectrogram to monitor the drone activity, and the third would coordinate with other ground police via his walkie-talkie.

Just before the end of the second half, a sudden alert for crowd flow popped up at the south square, where a large number of spectators had begun to gather as they leave the site. As this area served as the only passage for leaving the stadium, the crowd pressure could easily lead to a stampede.

From the initial alert to the loudspeaker broadcast and then to the arrival of police reenforcements on the scene, it took Wang and his colleagues just three minutes to complete the communication, and the crowds began to disperse.