The China Media Group (CMG), the country's flagship broadcaster, completed the fifth and final rehearsal of the highly anticipated Spring Festival Gala on Saturday.
A variety of performances were presented, including creative shows, songs and dances, acrobatics, operas, martial arts, sketches and magic tricks, creating a vibrant and festive atmosphere.
During the rehearsal, the coordination was impeccably smooth between the main venue in Beijing and four sub-venues, Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang, Yiwu in Zhejiang Province and Hefei in Anhui Province, both in east China, and Yibin in Sichuan Province in southwest China. Each of the sub-venues showcased its unique festive traditions and distinctive cultural heritage.
The gala, set to be aired on Chinese New Year's Eve on February 16 this year, will combine traditional Chinese culture with modern stagecraft, as well as cross-cultural performances featuring international artists.
Commonly known as "Chunwan" in Chinese, the gala has been broadcast live every Chinese New Year's Eve since 1983 and has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the most-watched annual television program on the planet.
Just over a year ago, the Spring Festival itself was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Final rehearsal for 2026 Spring Festival Gala completes
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday urged vigilance against recent dangerous trends in Japan, stating that the Japanese leadership's erroneous remarks regarding the Taiwan question directly challenge China's sovereignty and the post-war international order.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at the "China in the World" session at the 62nd Munich Security Conference, where he delivered a speech and answered questions.
Responding to a question about tensions in the Asia-Pacific, Wang said he does not agree that the regional situation is increasingly tense.
Looking around the world, only Asia maintains overall peace, Wang noted, adding that even recent local conflicts, such as those on the Cambodia-Thailand border, were quickly quelled through the efforts of all parties, with China playing a role. China has become a pillar of peace in Asia and will continue to play a constructive role in regional stability as a significant force for global peace, he said.
Wang also noted that the Asia-Pacific is not without its challenges, urging vigilance against recent dangerous trends in Japan.
"Not long ago, the current Japanese prime minister publicly claimed that any contingency in the Taiwan Strait would constitute a so-called 'survival-threatening situation' for Japan to exercise collective self-defense. This is the first time in the 80 years [since the war that a Japanese prime minister] has publicly made such a statement, which directly challenges China's national sovereignty, the post-war international order in which Taiwan was returned to China, and the political commitments Japan made to China. China will certainly not accept this, and neither will the 1.4 billion Chinese people," said Wang.
Speaking in Germany, Wang compared the post-war treatments of history by Japan and Europe. He noted that Germany has carried out a comprehensive liquidation of fascism and enacted laws banning the promotion of Nazism. In contrast, Japan still enshrines Class-A war criminals in a shrine, where Japanese politicians frequently pay homage and revere them as "heroic souls." Such a phenomenon is unthinkable in Europe, Wang said, calling it the root cause of all problems.
The erroneous remarks by the Japanese leadership on the Taiwan question reveal that Japan's ambition to invade and colonize China's Taiwan region has not died out, and the ghost of militarism is still lingering, Wang said.
"The lessons of history are not far away and must be closely examined. Back then, Japan launched its aggression against China and attacked Pearl Harbor [in the U.S.] under the same pretext of a so-called 'survival-threatening situation.' If Japan refuses to repent, it will inevitably repeat the same mistakes. This is the law of history. The kind-hearted people should be vigilant. The Japanese people should not allow themselves to be coerced and blinded by far-right forces that even want to revive militarism. All peace-loving countries should send a warning to Japan: if it tries to go back on its path, it will bring about its own destruction, and if it gambles once more, it will only be defeated faster and suffer a harsher loss," said Wang.
Chinese FM warns against Japan's challenge to post-war international order
