The Hefei sub-venue of this year's Lantern Festival Gala blended the poetic charm of water towns with holiday exuberance, showcasing the richness of Chinese tradition while expressing hopes for a brighter future.
The show is part of the long-running entertainment gala hosted by China Media Group (CMG) to mark the Lantern Festival, observed on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which fell on Tuesday this year. The festival marks the conclusion of China's Spring Festival celebrations centered around the Chinese New Year.
Carrying themes of family warmth, festive joy and national prosperity, the performance offered audiences a tapestry of folk arts and intangible cultural heritage, from carp-lantern parades and shadow puppetry shows to lion dances and the dazzling "iron flower" performance.
The show also featured a rich variety of local operas, such as Peking opera, Ping opera, Yue opera, Yangzhou opera and Pu opera.
First broadcast back in 1985, the Lantern Festival Gala stages a whole host of entertaining variety performances each year including energetic songs and dances, comedy sketches, as well as traditional operas and magic shows, highlighting China's unique cultural charm.
With a history spanning over 2,000 years, the Lantern Festival is deemed an important annual occasion in China, and is a time to admire the full moon, view traditional lantern shows, and eat "Yuanxiao" or "Tangyuan," a traditional ball-shaped Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice.
Hefei sub-venue spotlights rich Chinese culture, hopes
Hefei sub-venue spotlights rich Chinese culture, hopes
The Japanese society should do soul-searching regarding its history of aggression and adhere to the pacifist constitution, said Shiradori Hiroshi, a professor of the Hosei University, in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Tokyo on April 30.
He said the government's recent move to discuss revising the three security documents deserve particular attention as the country's foreign and security policies have already witnessed major changes.
"People outside of the country hold that Japan's post-war image as a 'peace state' is now facing a major shift. Against the backdrop of tremendous changes in its foreign and security policies, the revision of the three security documents deserves particular attention. There lacks public debate in terms of the procedure, with policy changes decided unilaterally at Cabinet meetings. It is necessary to fully explain to the public as to whether such a practice is proper," said Hiroshi.
The Japanese government held its first expert panel meeting to discuss revisions to the three security documents at the Prime Minister's Office on April 27, local media reported.
Japan's current National Security Strategy and two related documents, formulated in 2022, were designed to cover the next 10 years, but the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided to move up the timetable to accelerate the revision process.
Increasing defense spending is one of the key topics of the meeting, according to Kyodo News.
Hiroshi said this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, or Tokyo Trials, and the Japanese society must do soul-searching regarding its history of aggression in WWII, when it brought enormous catastrophes on Asian countries.
"Eighty years have passed since the opening of the Tokyo Trials. Japan inflicted enormous suffering on Asian countries during WWII, which should serve as an opportunity for the soul-searching. It is exact on the basis of countless sacrifices that Japan's post-war pacifism and its identity as a 'peace state' took shape. On this 80th anniversary, it is necessary for Japan to re-examine and do soul-searching regarding its history," said Hiroshi.
The Japanese government's effort to revise the pacifist constitution is widely opposed by the public.
On Sunday, around 50,000 people gathered at Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park, chanting slogans and holding banners against the government's push for constitutional revision and military expansion, the largest turnout of its kind in recent years.
Japan should adhere to pacifist constitution: scholar
