Sub-venue's ‘wonder market’ brings tech treasures to life at Spring Festival Gala

In a show-stopping tribute to commerce and innovation, Yiwu, the city famed as the "world's supermarket", dazzled television viewers with its bustling marketplaces and technological magic during this year's Spring Festival Gala, the world's most-watched TV show celebrating the start of the Chinese New Year.

Hosted by China Media Group (CMG), the Gala is regarded by many as the beating heart of the Chinese New Year's Eve celebrations. On Monday night, the annual cultural offering spread beyond Beijing, with secondary locations hosting stages in four other Chinese cities: Yibin in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Harbin in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province, Hefei in the eastern Anhui Province, and Yiwu, perhaps the most familiar location for international viewers, in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Through shifting scenes, the Yiwu showcase told the city's remarkable story: from a humble trading post to the world's largest small-commodities hub. Cameras swept over vibrant aisles, authentic local vendors, and finally Zhejiang Province's "new specialty": cutting-edge technology.

Inside a 4,000-square-meter studio, the CMG's production team accomplished a feat: building a 150-meter-long replica of Yiwu's famed international trade market. But this was no mere movie set.

"As far as the difficulties in designing the performance here in the Yiwu sub-venue were concerned, we faced one enormous challenge: how to avoid that 'studio feel'. Therefore, we made great efforts to enable the audience to feel that they were truly walking down a bustling market street, not a temporary set. That's why we filled this space with meaningful objects, actual products, and genuine shopkeepers," said Li Xing, outdoor director of the Yiwu sub-venue for the CMG's 2026 Spring Festival Gala.

The result was what the team calls the "Wonder Street", a meticulous recreation spanning Yiwu's evolution from its earliest markets to its sixth-generation trade center. Every item on display was authentic. Every shopkeeper was also a real dealer. Take Nie Ziqin, a Yiwu vendor dubbed "the coolest boss lady" by Chinese netizens, for example. When cameras rolled, she wasn't acting.

"I never imagined I'd have a chance to appear on a Spring Festival Gala. We were showing our real lives, how we take orders, and our actual work scenes to the audience. This opportunity has given us entrepreneurs in Yiwu even more confidence and pride," Nie said.

But the street's most surprising residents weren't human. In a stunning fusion of tradition and technology, Unitree Robotics' latest creations took the center stage. The company's full-size humanoid robot H2 appeared dressed as the legendary Monkey King, complete with a heavy armor and the mythical Golden Cudgel.

"We were striving to give technology a warmer face. Dressing our robot in the iconic Sun Wukong costume, something every Chinese viewer knows, was our way of surprising the audience. The moment actor Zhang Ruoyun tosses the Golden Cudgel and the robot catches it, its face lights up and it truly 'comes alive.' From that point on, it's all about emotional connection," Li said.

What the audience didn't see was the engineering challenge behind the spectacle.

"That armor weighs at least 15 to 20 kilograms. The biggest challenge was ensuring that the robot could move smoothly and steadily while wearing a heavy armor and wielding a rod. So we factored in the weight of the entire outfit, including the rod, into our simulation environment and trained the robot accordingly," explained Wang Xingxing, founder of Unitree Robotics.

From concept to final display, the entire "Monkey King Robot" segment took less than ten days. The team leveraged existing hardware capabilities and algorithm expertise to create something unprecedented: a robot with the subtle breathing rhythm of a living performer, showcasing technology with both power and heart.

The 2026 Spring Festival Gala has shattered viewership records across the board. By 08:00 Tuesday, the Gala had reached over 23 billion views across Chinese media, with peak online viewership surpassing 400 million. Television ratings soared to their highest in over a decade, and international reach hit an all-time high at 2.4 billion viewers.

Sub-venue's ‘wonder market’ brings tech treasures to life at Spring Festival Gala

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