China's Spring Festival web gala treats audiences to audiovisual feast

The China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Spring Festival Web Gala aired Tuesday night across TV, mobile apps and online platforms, blending pop and traditional culture with cutting-edge technologies.

The gala was broadcast on CCTV-1, CCTV-3 and CMG digital platforms from 20:00 Beijing time.

Featuring dances, songs and other performances, this year's show mixes pop culture and traditional Chinese arts, incorporating artificial intelligence, virtual reality and 3D technology for an enhanced audiovisual experience.

In the opening act, a group of famous Chinese singers delivered their heartfelt wishes with songs.

Later, performers with football players from the 13 cities of east China's Jiangsu Province presented an energetic show paying tribute to the popular grassroots Jiangsu Football City League.

A cultural fusion show using AR and AI technology transformed four actresses into agile images of ink brushes, ink sticks, paper and ink stones, gracefully dancing in a three-dimensional digital landscape.

In a special aerospace-themed performance, popular TV hosts sang with a choir of veteran aerospace workers, in homage to China's aerospace achievements.

Watching the annual show has become a tradition in China since its debut in 2011, especially among younger audiences. The gala is usually broadcast on the traditional Xiaonian Festival, literally the "Little New Year," also known as the Kitchen God Festival, which fell on Tuesday this year and marks the start of the countdown to the Chinese New Year.

The Spring Festival, the most important holiday in China, falls on Feb 17 this year, ushering in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, commended the hard work and contributions of delivery workers in Beijing on Tuesday, during a visit to a community canteen for seniors.

Xi, who was conducting a two-day inspection tour in Beijing, talked with three delivery workers who were taking a break in the canteen, asking about their work and life.

"The city couldn't function without workers like you. Your work meets the needs of countless households," Xi said, expressing his hope that they can lead good lives and work well.

Xi urged Party committees and governments at all levels to care for workers in new forms of employment and provide quality services to support their work, daily life and study.