Culture
22:14, 19-Feb-2019
Traditional Chinese culture highlighted at Lantern Festival gala
Updated
07:21, 20-Feb-2019
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As the final revelry of Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival gala kicked off at 20:06 BJT (12:06 GMT) precisely, with focus on traditional Chinese culture of all kinds.
The Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year, is also an important occasion for family reunion, and also a time to admire the first full moon of the Lunar New Year and eat sweet glutinous-rice balls, known as "Yuanxiao" or "Tangyuan".
While featuring the usual genres for a traditional Chinese festival gala, such as crosstalks and sketch comedies, dances and songs, this year, the Chinese Media Group Lantern Festival gala also invited a number of craftsmen to present some of the country's intangible cultural heritage projects, such as lanterns, sugar and dough figurines.
02:18
On stage, traditional cultures were also highlighted.
Chinese instruments were brought on stage and musicians played a cheerful piece of music with Guzheng, Erhu, Zhudi and Pipa, the most popular traditional stringed instruments.
In recent years, there has been a renaissance of traditional Chinese musical instruments.
03:01
Martial arts is also an indispensable part of the gala. Students from a martial art school in east China's Shandong Province played swords and fans. The former was once a weapon in ancient China and often witnessed in TV dramas or films, but are now as a stage prop for dances.
Operas have always been an essential part of Chinese festival galas, and this year's Lantern Festival gala was no exception. Pingju, or Ping opera from Tangshan in north China's Hebei Province made a remarkable performance.
05:53
The art form is known for its passionate body language and romantic plots, making it a perfect match for festive atmosphere.
Chaozhou opera, from south China's Chaoshan region, became representative of the southern culture. It is widely enjoyed in Guangdong, Fujian, Hong Kong and Macao.
02:33
Popular pop-music brand TFBoys also performed during the gala. As an important occasion for family reunions, the gala is aimed at appealing audiences across age groups.
02:45
"Moonlight" by artists from talent show "Super Vocal" amazed the audience with their outstanding singing skills. The show has won both popular and critical compliments for introducing non-mainstream music genres, such as bel canto, to the general public.
Moonlight, lanterns, glutinous rice balls, light shows and galas created a perfect night while setting the mood for the conclusion of Spring Festival celebrations.
03:07
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