BEIJING: Enjoying a big dinner with family members and watching the China Central Television broadcast of the annual Spring Festival Gala have become a tradition for many people to begin their holiday celebrations.
This year’s live broadcast starts at 8 pm on Saturday, with Sunday marking the start of the Year of the Rabbit.
Highlights of the upcoming gala were detailed at a news conference in Beijing on Monday, with brief videos shown on the stage designs and mascot Tu Yuanyuan, a lively rabbit with big, bright eyes. The fourth rehearsal for the four-and-a-half-hour event was held on Monday.
Singing, dancing, comedy sketches, operas, martial arts and acrobatics will be performed during the show, with wishes expressed for the country to be prosperous and peaceful this year, according to Xu Wenguang, head of China Media Group’s cultural and artistic program center.
Flowers are the main theme of the stage decoration, which takes its inspiration from mantingfang, a title in classical Chinese poetry meaning courtyard full of fragrance.
The ceiling of the studio is decorated with a flower pattern taken from pottery found at the Miaodigou archaeological site in Sanmenxia, Henan province. The site, which is about 5,000 years old, reflects the peak of ancient Yangshao culture.
The stage design combines ancient aesthetics and modern design concepts, and is meant to reflect the vitality of the Chinese people and create an auspicious and festive atmosphere, Xu said.
–The Daily Mail-Beijing review news exchange item
