The tradition of watching the Spring Festival Gala during the family reunion dinner has been an integral part of the Chinese New Year’s Eve celebrations since 1983 when the show first aired.

In the 34 years since its debut, the show has become the world’s most watched live event, with yearly 700 million viewers, more than the Super Bowl audience in the US. 

The event is simultaneously staged in five cities, with Beijing as the central venue. While the capital is seen as a traditional spot for the gala, other cities are themed accordingly – Shanghai in the east reflects innovation, Guilin in the south is in the spotlight for its scenery, Xichang in the west represents China’s diverse ethnicities, and Harbin in the north is known for its icy winters.  Like last year, this year’s gala will be broadcast from all five stations. 

The nationwide celebration starts at 20:00 BJT on Friday when the carefully rehearsed performances kick off, presenting a cultural feast to all Chinese at home and abroad. The spectacle will last for over four hours and there are 34 performances on the list, featuring songs, dances, talk shows, comedies, traditional operas, as well as martial arts and acrobatics. 

This year’s major attractions will pay an ode to China's 11 astronauts and its impressive aerospace progress in the past 60 years, and will include a martial arts performance by 80 champions who participated in the national, Asian and world championships, as well as China’s Olympic swimming star Fu Yuanhui who became an Internet darling in Rio last summer. 

Stars like Yao Ming, Jackie Chan, Hu Ge, Liu Tao and Jiang Xin, will add luster to this year’s gala. Other highlights involve three cross talks and six comedy skits, which have secured a spot in the final show out of 100 entries in that particular category. There is also a medley of seven Chinese traditional operas, and a mix of fire dance and ice dance by people from China’s ethnic minority communities.

The bells for Chinese New Year will ring at 00:00 BJT on Saturday. While people will be busy exchanging greetings at home, overseas Chinese will also gather in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York City to greet their compatriots and celebrate the Year of the Rooster.

One of the most popular searches related to the gala is on how people can obtain tickets to watch the show. However, CCTV states that it does not sell tickets for the festival, but instead emphasizes its live telecast so millions of people can be a part of the show. The newly-launched CGTN will also broadcast the Spring Festival Gala in English, French, Russian, Spanish and Arabic and can be watched in 157 countries and regions. The show will also be live streamed on CGTN’s YouTube channel.