As an international student, in early 2025, I was fortunate enough to be part of the illustrious annual Chinese New Year Gala, also widely known as the Spring Festival Gala, organized by China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing.
The Spring Festival, China’s largest annual celebration and a time for family reunion, fell on January 29 last year. The televised gala aired from 8 p.m. on January 28 through midnight.
In late 2024, a team from CMG was dispatched to my university, Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), one of the world’s premier institutions for Chinese studies, to identify talented students for a special performance during the upcoming event. Regrettably, I was traveling through different cities across China at the time and was unable to audition.
Upon my return to campus, however, fortune turned in my favor. With the support of my friends and dedicated teachers, I was afforded an opportunity to audition, two weeks after rehearsals had already commenced. This sequence of events might seem coincidental, but I believe I was destined to be part of it. I nearly missed the chance to perform on one of the most prominent platforms in the world. Yet, I seized the moment.
Initially, rehearsals took place in venues within our university, from the auditorium to an empty hall above the gymnasium. Day after day, we dedicated ourselves to perfect our performance. However, tensions arose when our choreographer exhibited indecisiveness, frequently altering the script after we had already learned the routines. This meant we had to rework not only our dance steps but also the entire song, which initially baffled us. Ultimately, this proved to be a worthwhile endeavor.
We performed to an unreleased song titled China Fun Together, alongside Chinese celebrities and students. This decision turned out to be one of the best the production team could’ve made.
The foreign students were asked to perform only the final segment of the song, but perfecting it in just 10 days was an immense challenge. As the event approached, our rehearsals intensified into full-day commitments at CMG, stretching from morning until night. The collective energy, focus and sheer effort poured into our preparation were extraordinary.
Yet, with only one day remaining, we faced a sobering possibility: If the producers were not satisfied, our performance could be cut from the final broadcast entirely.
Understandably, I was initially positioned at the back of the lineup, having joined later than my peers. Nevertheless, I refused to give up. I practiced daily with the team and continued rehearsing during off-hours. My persistence paid off; mere hours before the broadcast, I was moved from the last row to the front. Though I felt a twinge of guilt for replacing another performer, I was also overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude.
I have watched the Spring Festival Gala on television countless times, often with my Chinese friends or family. I never imagined I would actually have the privilege of being on that very stage. This achievement remains one of the major milestones of my life, a surreal moment I will continue to cherish for a very long time to come. –The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
