Elderly writer gains inspiration at "down-to-earth" Spring Festival Gala rehearsal

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Seventy-year-old author Wang Yuzhen, whose heartfelt memoirs about her late husband have moved millions of readers, was invited to attend a rehearsal of the CMG's 2026 Spring Festival Gala on Sunday, where she experienced the festive atmosphere firsthand.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese people, and watching the live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala on the eve of the Spring Festival is a cherished part of the celebrations in hundreds of millions of Chinese homes.

During the fourth rehearsal of the Spring Festival Gala, the event's outreach program "Spring Festival Gala Is Waiting for You" has been inviting representatives from the public to take seats in the audience and experience the festive atmosphere of the country's most-watched cultural event.

Among them is Wang, a retired teacher from north China's Hebei Province, who wrote about her late husband a little over a year ago. 

The touching story soon drew widespread attention online, and her works were later compiled into a book and published.

Wang said that the festive spirit at the gala rehearsal provided her with inspiration to continue writing.

"Watching it live on site, I felt it was truly wonderful. There was a sense of grandeur, like thousands of horses galloping forward, and at the same time there was the calmness and gentle beauty of the grasslands. The programs I watched included themes related to agriculture and industry, and they felt very down-to-earth," said Wang.

"After watching the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal, I will go back and immediately write an article to share my feelings with my online followers. I will also incorporate what I experienced and felt today into my future writing and literary works," added the author.

The "Spring Festival Gala Is Waiting for You" initiative will continue to invite inspiring members of the public to step closer to the gala stage, as people across the country prepare to welcome the Year of the Horse.

This year's gala will be broadcast live around the world in a week.

Elderly writer gains inspiration at "down-to-earth" Spring Festival Gala rehearsal

A Russian navy fleet consisting of Navy corvettes Sovershennyy and Rezkiy, and the medium-sized oil tanker Pechenga arrived in Zhanjiang City of south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday for a goodwill visit.

The Russian fleet, flying the flags of both Russia and China, docked on Wednesday morning at a military port in Zhanjiang, where the Chinese side held a welcome ceremony.

During the visit, Chinese and Russian officers and soldiers will tour each other's ships, attend receptions, participate in professional exchanges, and compete in sporting events.

The visiting vessels belong to the Russian Pacific Fleet and had all previously participated in cooperation and exchange activities between the two Navies.

The Chinese vessel participated in the exchange, Chenzhou, is a home-grown guided-missile frigate, with strong early warning and detection capabilities as well as comprehensive combat capabilities in multiple aspects, including shore bombardment, anti-ship, anti-aircraft and anti-submarine warfare. Since its commissioning, it has participated in and successfully completed a number of major drills and military exercises.

"I hope that in the following days of the event, we can deepen friendship and engage in professional and technical discussions with our Russian counterparts, and showcase the excellent image of the Chinese Navy," said Zhang Wenxuan, a Chinese Navy sub-lieutenant on Frigate Chenzhou.

The visit is part of routine goodwill exchanges between the two Navies, aimed at further enhancing mutual trust and practical cooperation, which is neither targeted at any third party nor linked to the current international and regional situation.

Russian Navy fleet visits south China's port city