China Central Television is broadcasting a new season of hit cultural variety shows, including Chinese Poetry Competition, National Treasures, and Everlasting Classics. The goal is to get young viewers interested in traditional culture. This topic was a hot one during China's annual Two Sessions of political meetings, which wrapped up last week.

The second season of the hit talent series, Everlasting Classics, aired while China's political advisors met for their annual session.

The guest review group included a famous singer, TV host, and professor from Beijing Normal University. Stars, foreigners, students, and soldiers joined in to give performances.

"For this year's Two Sessions, I pay more attention to the development of the Cultural and Creative Industry, how to promote the content. Everlasting Classics presents the specialty of ancient Chinese poetry through modern music expression. It's a perfect combination," said Zhang Yiwu, a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member.

Pop star Wang Yuan is singing Chang Ge Xing, a poem of the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). It's probably one of the earliest Chinese poems expressing a moral sense of time.

It set off a wave of discussion online. Director Tian Mei said that inviting young idols will introduce more young viewers to the profound connotation of the poem.

The show's main creative team keeps an eye on how to get the message out to the younger generation.

"We are producing a multi-media program. For example, we invite Christine Welch, an American Ph.D. candidate studying ancient Chinese literature. She shares her song admiring Chuang Tzu, a philosopher from the 4th century BC. The song got more than a million hits in an hour, and our account got 100 thousand new followers. I think this is a way of expression young people like. You should follow their thinking and create matching content," said Tian Mei.

There was also the second season of "National Treasures." The stories of 27 national treasures sent viewers to museums to see the originals.

During its first season, the creative team uploaded an edition to Bilibili, a popular video platform. The hits started coming immediately, with a huge fan base aged 19-24. The team took the feedback into consideration for the second season.

The final of the fourth season of Chinese Poetry Competition topped the ratings. Even more so than in the first three seasons, it applied poems to modern life, for a fresh approach.

Nostalgia is part of the appeal, as well as something much deeper.

"It brings me back to the high school time when we learned a lot about traditional culture and literature. Although it is far from what I am learning now, I like it... it will keep nourishing me," said Liu Yayue, a college student. 

"Young people need this kind of program. The accumulation of culture is an inward enrichment. I hope this kind of show is serving the need, and it should be better presented and spread," Tian added.

"Make traditional culture popular" is the motto of the CPPCC members. And it's also what media workers are doing, in terms of presenting excellent TV programs to young audiences.