CMG Mid-Autumn Festival Gala blends traditional culture with modern technology

China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival Gala aired on Friday featured a rich array of performances centered on the moon, reunion and cultural traditions, presenting an audiovisual feast where traditional Chinese culture is seamlessly blended with modern technology.

The annual gala broadcast, also known as "Qiuwan" in Chinese, was recorded in Huainan City, east China's Anhui Province, the birthplace of the ancient text recording the legend of Chang'e flying to the moon.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the inclusion of the Mid-Autumn Festival in China's first national list of intangible cultural heritage.

Unfolding in three chapters, this year's gala centered on the cultural significance of the Mid-Autumn moon and featured traditional art forms including Huagudeng folk dance, shadow puppetry and tofu banquets, presented in more interactive and contemporary ways.

The first chapter themed "Moonward Journey" started with "Ode to Mid-Autumn," a heartfelt performance delivered by Chinese singers Sun Nan and Tan Weiwei, together with a children's choir. Through a seamless blend of childlike innocence and ritual music, the song captures the enduring vitality of China's traditional culture.

By combining real-life scenery with modern audiovisual technology, the gala also incorporated cutting-edge innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to help bring the show's traditional narratives to life.

An original song created by AI, Autumn Traveling North and South, was incorporated into the gala, celebrating the will, resilience, and spirit of ordinary people as they strive to succeed.

During the performance, a total of 8,000 drones took to the night sky, creating images of major Chinese engineering achievements to add to the festivities.

The gala was broadcast live globally on various CMG TV channels, including CCTV-1, CCTV-3 and CCTV-4, as well as on new media and overseas social media platforms. It was also available on mainstream media outlets in other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on Friday this year. Around China, people celebrate the day by gathering for moon-gazing, eating mooncakes, and lighting colorful lanterns.

The 48th escort task group of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy arrived at the Yangon Port on Thursday afternoon, starting a five-day goodwill visit to Myanmar.

More than 300 people, including staff members from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, representatives of the local Chinese community, as well as officers and soldiers from Myanmar's military forces, welcomed the fleet at the dock.

Composed of the guided-missile destroyer Tangshan, the guided-missile frigate Daqing and the comprehensive supply ship Taihu, the task group set sail for escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia on Oct. 11, 2025.

After recently completing its missions in the Gulf of Aden and setting off on its return to China, the task group paid a visit to Bangladesh and is now starting its visit to Myanmar.