'Ice City' of Harbin shines bright with warm celebrations at Lantern Festival Gala

Northeast China's "ice city" of Harbin was in the spotlight on Tuesday evening as it featured as a sub-venue for the 2026 Lantern Festival Gala, offering a stunning array of performances that seamlessly fused age-old traditions with cutting-edge modernity.

Hosted by the China Media Group (CMG), the annual 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 for the long-running entertainment show, showcasing more of China's varied landscapes and cultural traditions.

As well as Harbin, the other venues this year include Hefei, the provincial capital of the eastern Anhui Province which has emerged as a prime location for sci-tech innovation, the trading hub of Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang, which has been dubbed "the world's supermarket," and Yibin in the southwestern Sichuan Province, known for its ancient architecture and picturesque scenery along the banks of the Yangtze River.

As a vibrant sub-venue of the hours-long gala, Harbin showcased its unique charm through captivating acts, from shimmering ice sculptures and folk art to innovative digital presentations and spectacular firework displays, creating a magical celebration that paid homage to the city's icy heritage while embracing the spirit of contemporary creativity.

The Lantern Festival, observed on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, lands on Tuesday this year, and marks the conclusion of the country's Spring Festival celebrations, which center around the Chinese New Year.

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.

'Ice City' of Harbin shines bright with warm celebrations at Lantern Festival Gala

China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reached 2.5141 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first quarter of 2026, up 5.2 percent year on year, according to data released by the National Energy Administration on Monday.

A breakdown of the data shows robust growth across various sectors, as the country's economy got off to a good start in the first quarter with new growth drivers.

From January to March, China's primary industry saw an increase of 7.1 percent in power consumption, bringing total power used to 33.6 billion kilowatt-hours. The secondary industry consumed nearly 1.6 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 4.7 percent from a year ago. Within this sector, the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industry posted particularly strong growth, with electricity consumption increasing 8.6 percent year on year.

The tertiary industry recorded 8.1-percent growth in power use, totaling 483.3 billion kilowatt-hours. Notably, the battery charging and swapping service sector consumed 37.6 billion kilowatt-hours, surging 53.8 percent, while the internet data service sector used 22.9 billion kilowatt-hours, up 44 percent. The power consumption of urban and rural residents was 398.5 billion kilowatt-hours, increasing by 3.4 percent year on year.

In March alone, electricity consumption reached 859.5 billion kilowatt-hours, up 3.5 percent year on year.

China's economy grew five percent in the first quarter, outpacing expectations of some overseas institutions and reinforcing the country's role as a stabilizing force in an increasingly volatile global economy.

China's power use up 5.2 percent in Q1