The most watched television show in the world is not the Oscars or the Emmys, or even the FIFA World Cup final -- it's China's Spring Festival Gala, an annual television event celebrating the Chinese New Year. 

Last year, an estimated 1.053 billion people watched Chunwan – Spring Festival Gala - on television and across digital platforms last year. Meanwhile,only around 34.3 million people had watched the Oscars ceremony last year and less than 20 million people viewed the live show of the Golden Globes earlier this year. 

Chunwan was broadcast live on China Central Television for the first time in 1983 - it was the birth of a new national tradition. Since then, families across the country have gathered to eat dinner together on New Year’s Eve while watching the gala. 

The show attracts compliments and criticism, cheers and jeers. We took to the streets in Beijing and asked some residents about their feelings and special memories of Chunwan. 

Educated youth 

A retired woman from Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province told us neighbors used to come to her home to watch Chunwan since only her family had a TV in the 1980s. She calls herself an “educated youth,” a term referring to the millions of youngsters sent from urban areas to live and work in the countryside from the 1950s to 1970s. Later, she settled down in Beijing with her husband, an “educated youth” originally from the capital. 

Tom and Arthur 

Tom, a British man who married a Chinese woman, has lived in China for nine years. He now has a three-year-old son - Arthur. Tom watches Chunwan every year with his wife’s family in her hometown, northeast China’s Changchun. Tom enjoys the creative art work displayed during Chunwan, through which he sees a connection with the traditions of Confucius or Laozi. He loves the way the New Year animal is introduced at the extravagant gala, and also hopes to see more charity by stars to help poor communities. 

Watch CGTN international editor Nadim Diab’s exclusive video to find out exactly what Chunwan is and discover people’s affection, expectations and memories of the gala. And don’t forget to tune in to CGTN to watch Chunwan, as well as some exclusive videos and backstage news from the gala, on January 27, the Chinese New Year's Eve.  

(Video and article by Zhou Jinxi and Mi Xue)