CMG Mid-Autumn Festival Gala features international lineup

China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival Gala, aired at the prime viewing time on Friday, featured a diverse lineup blending traditional Chinese culture with international artistry.

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 mythical Chinese goddess 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, the gala centered on the cultural significance of the Mid-Autumn moon and presented traditional art forms including Huagudeng folk dance, shadow puppetry and tofu banquets in more interactive and contemporary ways.

Themed "Autumn Aglow," the third chapter featured collaborations by international artists.

Chinese pipa player Fang Jinlong, Croatian cellist Ana Rucner and German pianist Oskar Roman Jezior performed a musical dialogue combining Chinese and Western instruments.

British singer Sarah Brightman and Chinese singer Zhou Shen jointly performed The Music of the Night from musical The Phantom of the Opera.

The gala was broadcast 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.

CMG Mid-Autumn Festival Gala features international lineup

The results of the Ninth State Duma elections show that the ruling United Russia party has won 349 seats, retaining its "constitutional majority" status, Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairperson Ella Pamfilova announced on Friday.

Pamfilova said that representatives of six parties and four self-nominated candidates were elected to the new State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

According to CEC statistics, United Russia won 349 seats in the lower house of parliament, followed by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation with 37 seats, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia with 23 seats, New People with 19 seats, A Just Russia with 17 seats, and Rodina with one seat. The four remaining seats were allocated to self-nominated candidates.

The final turnout in the Sept 18-20 State Duma election was 59.8 percent, higher than the 51.72 percent recorded in 2021, Pamfilova said.

The State Duma is Russia's permanent legislative body, with 450 deputies.

The seat allocation for this election followed the traditional model: of the 450 State Duma seats, 225 are distributed proportionally according to party lists, with participating parties required to reach a 5-percent threshold to obtain seats. The remaining 225 seats were elected through single-mandate constituencies nationwide under a relative majority voting system.

Russia's ruling party retains "constitutional majority" in State Duma: official election results