Overseas Chinese in Frankfurt, Germany, are celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival with diverse Chinese cultural elements, immersing the city in a joyful festive atmosphere.
As the Year of the Horse arrives, streets and alleys in Frankfurt are bustled with crowds. The Dragon Dance of Anchorage Step, a representative performance of China's national intangible cultural heritage with over 200 years of history, made a stunning appearance in the city.
The Spring Festival, which falls on Feb 17 or Tuesday this year, marks the start of the Year of the Horse, the seventh of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.
Local overseas Chinese have also organized Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing) performances, attracting many Germans.
Chinese restaurants in the city are packed, and Chinese supermarkets are crowded with shoppers for festive supplies.
A unique event of enjoying reunion dinner and experiencing cuisine of Chaozhou in south China's Guangdong Province attracted many Germans along with local overseas Chinese from Wednesday to Friday.
Zheng Aizhen, who has been working in the catering industry and living in Germany for many years, has been dedicated to introducing Chinese cuisine to Germans, in the hope to allow people understand the profound Chinese culture through taste.
"What the food tastes is where your home is. Gourmet is a language that transcends mountains and seas, connecting your native home and place away from it. We make the Chinese New Year flavor the strongest, make Chinese cuisine the most delicious, and let Chinese culture confidently reach out to the world through taste," said Zheng.
A professional culinary team from Chaozhou have presented the cuisine to Frankfurt.
Many Germans are keenly interested in the stories behind the dishes.
"I really like it, because what I see is it's from the cultural side and you see it with a lot of fish. So [it's] very very delicious. It's amazing," said Jan Werner, mayor of Langen.
Frankfurt experiences Spring Festival celebrations with Chinese cultural elements
As one of the four sub-venues for China Media Group's 2026 Spring Festival Gala, Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province is to distinguish itself with its unique ice stage.
Known as the "Ice City," Harbin is the northernmost and coldest of this year's gala locations. Set against sweeping snow and ice landscapes, the city is to offer a striking winter backdrop for the nationally televised variety show.
At the Harbin Ice and Snow World, the production team has constructed a new main stage designed specifically for the gala. Framed by ten snowflake-shaped structures, the "ice stage" is intentionally compact and immersive, standing in contrast to the surrounding monumental ice architecture.
"We didn't intend to build a massive stage this time. Instead, we wanted a more intimate layout," said Cao Tianshu, production director of the Harbin sub-venue for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala.
"We've created ten snowflake structures, each made of a special steel mesh material, so as to produce a translucent effect, enhanced through lighting. The structure is sturdy and wind-resistant, as the mesh is pervious to wind. We've also built a 30-by-30-meter ice rink that can accommodate skating and ice dance performances, and we put a lot of efforts into ensuring the quality of the ice," Cao said.
Even without large LED screens or heavy digital effects, producers say the natural texture of ice and snow will create unexpected visual impact — one of the Harbin segment’s defining features.
The Harbin show is expected to run about seven minutes. Members of the directing team traveled to the city five times during preparations, selecting representative landmarks and cultural elements that reflect Harbin’s winter economy, regional character and contemporary spirit.
"We have incorporated signature scenes tied to Harbin's ice and snow culture, like the Ice and Snow World, Central Street and the Chinese Baroque quarter. We've also included local specialties and popular attractions favored by visitors and online audiences, such as the well-known giant snowman. All these elements are woven into this year's program design," said Zhang Ji, chief director of the Harbin sub-venue for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala.
Unlike traditional singing performances, this year's Harbin segment will adopt a narrative format. Performers will portray ordinary people who emerged in Harbin's recent tourism boom, recreating heartwarming moments through staged storytelling.
The segment will also adopt advanced sci-tech elements, both aerial and ground-based, adding further visual dimension to the winter-themed production.
The other three sub-venues are Yiwu in Zhejiang Province, Hefei in Anhui Province and Yibin in Sichuan Province, which alongside Harbin will present a diverse cultural show for the festival.
Initiated in 1983, the Spring Festival Gala has become a central feature of Chinese New Year celebrations. The annual program combines music, dance, comedy sketches, traditional opera and folk arts, and airs on the eve of the Spring Festival.
This year, the gala will go live on Monday.
Harbin brings ice stage to Spring Festival Gala
