Presented by China Media Group (CMG), the annual gala, also known as Qiuwan in Chinese, began at 8 p.m. Beijing Time on September 10 and lasted two hours, accompanying Chinese worldwide to spend a captivating, heartwarming and romantic Mid-Autumn Festival.

With nearly 30 heartfelt programs, the gala presented a high-quality cultural feast, highlighting the beauty of China in a magnificent context for a global audience.

The first "Mid-Autumn Festival in space"

Shenzhou-14 taikonauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang, and Cai Xuzhe spent their first ever "Mid-Autumn Festival in Space" on China's space station. The three taikonauts recorded an exclusive video for the gala, sending their Mid-Autumn wishes and a "lucky star" to the Chinese people worldwide.

To further link those celebrating in space to those on Earth,  a "star" in taikonaut Liu Yang's hand "flew" to the hands of the guest performer Li Yuchun onstage at the gala with the help of special effects technology, creating a visual link between those near and far.

Technology unlocks traditional culture

This year's CMG Mid-Autumn Festival Gala focused on highlighting the fusion of "ideas + art + technology," taking landscape scenery as the backdrop and creative material and deeply exploring the history, culture, traditional folklore and culture of Zhangjiagang in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, where the main venue was.

In terms of innovative design, the gala brought a surprise presentation through location shooting and virtual production, incorporating scenes rich with the heritage of Jiangnan, an area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

A 360-degree panoramic stage with a circle within a circle and three circles embedded in each other was constructed on the lake surface of Jiyang Lake, incorporating elements of Suzhou's gardens and Jiangnan's waterfront towns. 

This year, for the first time, the Autumn Gala of China National Radio also adopts 8K ultra-high definition technology and three-dimensional Audio Vivid technology for production and broadcast. Also, for the first time, the show was broadcast live on ultra-high definition public screens in more than 270 outdoor landmark screens in 70 cities nationwide.

Celebrating the festive reunion with Chinese worldwide

Watching the CMG Mid-Autumn Festival Gala with family members has become a "new folk custom" for Chinese worldwide.

This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala was broadcast via overseas media, such as Sinovision, KTSF Channel 26, Charming China IPTV in Canada, NICONICO, China Arab TV and Switch TV in Kenya.