Yu Lei, chief director of the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, revealed how the Year of the Horse became the creative backbone for this year's celebration in a recent interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
The 2026 Spring Festival Gala presented by the China Media Group (CMG) delivered a more than four-hour-long feast of captivating cultural performances and entertaining variety acts to audiences in celebration of the arrival of the Chinese New Year on Tuesday.
Themed "The Steed Gallops, Momentum Unstoppable," the gala featured all kinds of horse elements to welcome the Year of the Horse.
"Many people said the Year of the Horse must be easy to work with. It seems easy, but once you really dig into it, you discover there are simply too many cultural images and meanings associated with horses. Because there are so many, it actually becomes difficult to choose," Yu said.
"Since the cultural imagery of the Year of the Horse is so rich, we decided to just include all of them in all aspects and details. We turned the arrangement of the entire program into a grand essay on 'the thundering herd' for the Year of the Horse. So you can see we have songs with horse themes, we incorporated Xu Beihong's painting Six Galloping Horses to create an animated visual interpretation. We also have Mamianqun ('horse-face skirts'), horsehead fiddles, and even our opening which has a combination of bowed string instruments was to create the auditory sensation of a galloping herd of 10,000 horses," she said.
The show also featured equine details such as cartoonish horse hats worn by child performers and a host, virtual horses, and horse toys designed by AI, all to enhance the sense that the Year of the Horse is coming, according to the director.
Spring Festival Gala director expounds on horse element
Passengers departing for China from London Heathrow Airport were immersed in a festive atmosphere on Sunday evening, as Terminal 2 was transformed into a celebration venue ahead of flights to the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shenzhen.
The event was held to mark the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, the most important traditional holiday in China and a time for family reunions, which falls on Feb. 17 this year.
At Heathrow, a Spring Festival send-off ceremony featured red lanterns, spring couplets and intricate paper-cut window decorations, all traditional elements associated with the holiday. Staff distributed holiday gift packs and cultural souvenirs to travelers, while many passengers stopped to learn about Spring Festival traditions and take photos.
Organizers said the event aimed to allow foreign travelers to experience the festive spirit before arriving in China, while also creating a warm holiday atmosphere for overseas Chinese communities.
The lively celebration comes amid growing interest in travel to China. For an increasing number of international travelers, visiting China has become part of their travel plans, driven by curiosity about the country's rich culture, modern cities and diverse landscapes.
"[I want to] See the landmarks, see something really different than what I'm used to, the size of everything, the history. I'm going to go on a tour guide and see the Forbidden City, kind like around the Tian'anmen and everything," said a British passenger.
To further facilitate cross-border travel, China decides to extend its visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from the UK, starting from Feb 17, 2026. Ordinary passport holders from the country can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.
"I think it will make it a lot easier for me to go back and forth often to China. Much easier entry," said another British passenger.
"British citizens being able to travel to China visa free is a really great thing. It's truly a wonderful thing. [British citizens] can both travel to China, and engage in trade there. It's incredibly convenient," said Lucas, a British student at Zhejiang University in east China.
Zhang Li, director of the China National Tourist Office in London, said the Spring Festival serves not only as an emotional symbol for the Chinese people but also as an important window through which the world can better understand China.
"They're welcome to visit China, celebrate the Spring Festival and experience the rich festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year," he said.
Spring Festival spirit fills London airport as travelers head to China
