China Media Group (CMG) held a special promotion event for its 2026 Spring Festival Gala in Cairo on Friday, gathering guests from across sectors to foster cultural exchange and celebrate the Chinese New Year on a global stage.
The event was jointly hosted by CMG, the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and the Egyptian Tourism Authority. More than 200 guests from political, cultural, media circles and the League of Arab States attended the event, titled "Prelude to the Spring Festival Gala, the World Watches the CMG Gala Together".
Shen Haixiong, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and president of CMG, delivered a video address. He noted that the Spring Festival is a cultural symbol of Chinese civilization that has endured for thousands of years and a spiritual bond connecting Chinese people around the world.
He added that this year’s CMG Spring Festival Gala will apply innovative technological achievements such as "5G+4K/8K+AI", while leveraging its strengths in broadcasting in 85 languages to present a cultural feast for audiences both at home and abroad.
Former Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf attended the event and delivered a speech. He said that the choice of the Grand Egyptian Museum as the venue for the event is of great significance, serving as a vivid testament to the mutual understanding, exchanges and harmonious coexistence between the two ancient civilizations of Egypt and China.
Sharaf noted that 2026 is the Year of the Horse, which in Chinese culture symbolizes strength, progress and vitality, as well as the spirit of confidently embracing the future. This spiritual connotation highly aligns with the current sound momentum of Egypt-China relations. He expressed the hope that the two countries will move forward hand in hand toward a brighter future.
The Spring Festival, the most significant traditional festival in China that marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, will fall on Feb 17 this year, ushering in the Year of the Horse.
CMG hosts Spring Festival Gala in Egypt to strengthen cultural exchange
CMG hosts Spring Festival Gala in Egypt to strengthen cultural exchange
South China's Guangdong Province is accelerating its transformation into an international medical tourism hub, positioning itself as a destination for patients worldwide seeking affordable, high-quality care.
The push follows a joint initiative announced in late March by nine Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, aimed at boosting spending by foreign tourists and enhancing exports of tourism services as part of broader efforts to expand the country's service sector.
Every day, some of the most complex surgeries are performed here. Li Zilun, deputy director of the division of vascular surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, is among the doctors capable of carrying out these intricate procedures.
He recently completed surgery on a patient with an aortic aneurysm, a condition often described as a "time bomb" in the body’s main artery, increasingly common in aging societies around the globe. Li also specializes in highly difficult and pioneering procedures, including repairing leaks caused by failed grafts.
"This was a very challenging case. And then, we implanted the covered stent to eliminate the endoleak. Actually, the outcome was pretty good. The patient will be discharged today," said Li Zilun.
The ability to handle such complex cases -- combining international techniques with domestically produced devices -- is drawing patients from around the world to seek treatment. In addition, high safety standards and low costs are also major draws.
"Our government is encouraging innovation. So, lots of physicians -- including our vascular surgeons -- we are actively involved in the innovation that helps to increase the effectiveness and safety, and also bring down the cost," said Li.
This hospital is one of the first in Guangdong to be designated by the provincial health commission as a pilot site for building an international medical service hub.
The growing number of patients has pushed the hospital to explore new ways to transform every step -- from treatment to payment and everything in between -- into a seamless experience, reducing waiting times and delivering better care for patients.
"I think it's fast. When the patient come here for just about, I think, one week, you can solve the problem," said Xiao Haipeng, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
The hospital is also deepening its international cooperation with top-tier medical institutions, including those at Harvard University.
"Not just for China, for the whole globe, we are facing health care challenges -- emerging infectious disease and chronic, lung infectious diseases, and also the aging population, also the shortage of healthcare workforce," said Xiao.
In response to these challenges, China is promoting its own solutions, including aggressive innovation in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflows, while stepping up research and development investment and global engagement along the way.
"In recent years, the innovation in Western medicine is dramatically growing. An example of my hospital -- in the past few years, we have 140 innovations and seven of them are international leading innovations," said Xiao.
As global demand for medical tourism grows, China is positioning itself as a new destination. Official data shows that the number of foreign patients in Guangdong increased by 20 percent last year. Among them, the growth in inpatient admissions was even faster, rising by 76 percent.
Guangdong fast-tracks pilot for int'l medical service hub
