Spring Festival Gala Yibin sub-venue combines traditional culture, modern technologies

The dazzling performance at the Spring Festival Gala's sub-venue in Yibin City of southwest China's Sichuan Province features a combination of the city's rich history, culture and modern industrial advancements, according to its organizers.

Hosted by the China Media Group (CMG), the long-running gala this year features four sub-venues in addition to the main stage in Beijing. Taking the grand show to new locations each year has become a new tradition, shining a spotlight on more of China's varied landscapes and cultural traditions.

Hosting one of the four sub-venues for the Spring Festival Gala this year, Yibin is a dynamic city where time-honored traditions and modern vitality coexist harmoniously. It holds many distinctions, including being known as the 'First City on the Yangtze River', being recognized as a 'City of Liquor' for its popular products in the Chinese liquor family, and being rated as 'China's Bamboo Capital' for boasting the world's largest bamboo forest. In recent years, Yibin has also gained more international prominence as the 'Capital of Power Batteries' as a major hub for electric vehicle battery production.

In this year's Spring Festival Gala, the Yibin sub-venue presented a nearly 8-minute live performance, deeply integrating the unique scenery of the river-side city, and its time-honored intangible cultural heritage, with the application of cutting-edge technologies.

"This year marks the 10th anniversary of launch of the Yangtze River Protection Campaign, so we included elements of environmental protection in the gala. We found a suitable site for setting up a stage for the performance on the Yangtze River, taking it as a zero-carbon promotion platform. In the performance, we used a beautiful and freehand style of expression, and incorporated some technological elements, such as drones, and also representatives of the people living in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River who are protecting its clear waters," said Gu Zhigang, head organizer of the CMG Spring Festival Gala's Yibin sub-venue.

In the program, a "finless porpoise" composed of 5,000 drones leaped out of the water. To realistically recreate the movements of this rare animal, the drone array was only 40 centimeters above the river surface, overcoming the unprecedented challenge of airflow and electromagnetic interference from the river surface.

The Yibin sub-venue also highlighted many cutting-edge technological achievements made by Sichuan. For example, the world's leading large UAV, the Wing Loong-2, and 10 Cloud Shadow UAV, capable of vertical take-off and landing, vertical turning and high-speed flight, all made their debut on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

"Developing a low-altitude economy in Sichuan is backed by efficient integration of large-scale enterprises in the aviation industry, as well as favorable conditions arising from the complex terrain and seasonal variations in the Sichuan region. These are capable of providing immense potential for the development of low-altitude economic scenarios across the country," said Zhao Chuangxin, head of the UAV product development department under Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group.

The performance also featured a unique scene on the Yibin Yangtze River Bridge, where historical silhouettes of the old Tea Horse Road and the speeding silhouettes of modern intelligent trains created a scene of dialogue across time. Lifelike robot pandas vividly showcased the unique charm of Sichuan's natural environment through modern technology. Intangible cultural heritage elements such as Muchuan grass dragons and Chuanbei Big Puppetry gave traditional culture a new vitality on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

"Horses were an important means of transportation in ancient times. In the performance, there was a scene in which the horse, traveling in time and space, met the intelligent rail transit system, which is a new and smart urban transportation means today. We hope to use such a impressionistic design to convey the spirit of striving for progress in the new era," Gu said.

Besides Yibin, the other three sub-venues for the Spring Festival Gala this year are Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China known as the "ice city," Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang, which has been dubbed "the world's supermarket," and Hefei, the provincial capital of the eastern Anhui Province which has emerged as a hub for sci-tech innovation.

Spring Festival Gala Yibin sub-venue combines traditional culture, modern technologies

As another dazzling China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala drew to a close on early Tuesday morning, sign language performers infused the closing song "Unforgettable Tonight" with heartfelt emotion, allowing viewers with disabilities to share in the celebration and experience every touching note alongside millions of families across China.

For four decades, the final moments of the gala have belonged to "Unforgettable Tonight." For generations, the eve of the Chinese New Year isn't complete until its familiar melody fills living rooms. "Unforgettable Tonight" is not just a song but a cherished tradition that carries the weight of a nation's shared memories and hopes.

Inside a modest rehearsal room, the magic of "barrier-free broadcasting" came alive, as the production team worked to ensure that the visually and hearing-impaired could experience the full energy and emotion of the gala, just like everyone else.

"It might look like sign language is just a set of gestures. But it's so much more. It includes facial expressions, the dynamics, and the tempo of each movement. Every detail expresses the rhythms, melodies, and emotions in the music. As you can see, for this year's 'Unforgettable Tonight' with a lighter tone, the performers made it look effortless, swaying gently as they signed. But if the style changes, so does our signing. We can make it powerful too," said Zhao Zhihui, head of barrier-free broadcasting for the gala.

Last year, the team was challenged by an operatic version of the song, and the sign language mirrored the grandeur: delivered with robust energy and the muscular grace of Chinese opera. But in 2026, the approach was intentionally more intimate. Performers strove to capture even the subtlest change in mood.

"When it was the opera version, our signing was powerful and vigorous, capturing the strength and depth of traditional Chinese opera. This year, we wanted every delicate shift on stage to be fully shared by our visually and hearing-impaired audiences," Zhao shared.

During rehearsal, as the melody of "Unforgettable Tonight" flowed through the room and interpreters began their own choreography, the song revealed a beauty beyond sound and lyrics. Their hands, faces, and movements became a new language of expression, resonating with everyone present.

"It's not really about singing a song. It's about channeling all the emotions we've built up through so many years of the Chinese New Year. The gestures required for this song are simple, just a few basic movements. But every time you perform them, it feels different. Especially the final sign, the emotions are always deeper. Because that moment carries several months of hard work. When you finally succeed and think about 'Unforgettable Tonight,' you realize, what is 'tonight'? It's actually the past months of preparation and effort, all leading to that one final moment when we share the Gala's wonderful performances with every single member of our audience," said Zhao.

Sign language performers bring fresh life to beloved song at Spring Festival Gala