The special multimedia program "2026 Celebrity New Year Greetings," produced by CCTV's Yangshiwang and its Cultural Programs Center under the "Cultural Moments" segment, has successfully concluded after 95 episodes, achieving 360 million views across CCTV platforms. This cultural feast for the Lunar New Year, gathering distinguished artists from various fields, arrived at a significant moment—the "Intangible Cultural Heritage Edition" Spring Festival during the Year of the Bingwu Horse and the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. With relatable expressions and heartfelt blessings, it offered audiences a warm, vibrant, and culturally rich New Year's gift.
For three consecutive years, "Celebrity New Year Greetings" has become an indispensable cultural tradition each Spring Festival. Since 2024, over a hundred luminaries from cultural and artistic circles have stepped out of their studios, theaters, and workshops to appear on screen. Drawing from their lifelong expertise, they conveyed sincere New Year wishes to viewers nationwide through simple words and masterful skills. Starting in the Year of the Dragon (2024), the program pioneered a new model of celebrity blessings and cultural celebrations. In the Year of the Snake (2025), it deepened its approach, integrating traditional customs with artistic charm during the first "Intangible Cultural Heritage Edition" Spring Festival. By the Year of the Horse (2026), it soared further, exploring the essence of horse culture with the vigor of a new beginning. Over two years, the program has consistently upheld innovation, uniting masters from fine arts, calligraphy, music, theater, literature, dance, and folk arts to bring cultural blessings into households, evoking deep resonance with traditional culture and hometown sentiments.
Building on the cultural foundation and outreach experience of the 2024 and 2025 editions, "2026 Celebrity New Year Greetings" delved into the symbolic meanings and spiritual core of horse culture, conveying the dynamism of a new era. Through youth-friendly, interactive, and easily shareable formats, it blended cultural heritage with festive customs, delivering heartfelt New Year wishes.
On January 1, 2026, "2026 Celebrity New Year Greetings" launched with the determined spirit of the Bingwu Horse Year, offering global Chinese communities a blessing feast rich in cultural depth, artistic quality, and New Year warmth. Continuing the short-video format, the program aired on Yangshiwang, CCTV-3, and the CCTV News app, while simultaneously appearing on 11 major platforms including Weibo, Video Accounts, Bilibili, Douyin, and Kuaishou. It achieved high acclaim and popularity, effectively synchronizing content across screens and complementing audience engagement.
This year's program expanded its roster of celebrities and artistic disciplines. Participants included nonagenarian painting masters Li Binsheng, Chen Jinzhang, and Wang Guanqing; cultural scholars Feng Jicai, Chen Pingyuan, Tian Qing, and Wang Wei; opera artists He Saifei, Sheng Xiaoyun, and Zeng Xiaomin; as well as intangible cultural heritage inheritors, calligraphers, painters, and folklorists. Ninety-five masters showcased their talents, infusing New Year blessings with the auspicious symbolism of the horse and a commitment to Chinese cultural heritage.
On New Year's Day, Han Meilin, a distinguished professor and artist at Tsinghua University, opened the program with his long-standing work on horse culture, wishing everyone "galloping ahead with unstoppable momentum." Renowned artist Wu Weishan continued his profound interpretation of traditional culture, expressing hopes to "spur forward and leap into spring." Tian Qing, researcher at the Chinese National Academy of Arts and member of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, conveyed the serene power of traditional music and patriotism through the Nanjin melody "Galloping Horse." Chen Yan, award-winning author and playwright, shared how folk culture nourishes literature.
Other celebrities offered warm and inspiring blessings. Cultural scholar Feng Jicai humorously compared his lifelong pursuits in painting, literature, cultural heritage preservation, and education to "four horses," presenting a white porcelain horse from the Liao Dynasty as a gift to wish everyone "to advance tirelessly." Chen Yushu, a national senior craft artist, traced the千年 history of horse hoof designs, expressing hopes to "chase dreams without wasting youth." Performing artist He Saifei shared her experience portraying Mulan on horseback, describing it as "a feeling of yearning for vast fields and skies." Calligrapher Zhang Hai conveyed resilience and responsibility through poetry: "Galloping fearlessly through obstacles, resting with concerns of long journeys." Painter Fang Tu highlighted cultural inheritance: "Art, like the New Year, needs traditional roots and innovative buds." Scholar Chen Yongzheng drew from classical poetry to wish "national peace and prosperity in the Year of the Horse."
Ink paintings, opera melodies, folk crafts, and traditional customs all served as vibrant cultural vehicles in the program, revitalizing excellent traditional Chinese culture within the New Year context. Beyond artistic breakthroughs, the program partnered with Wuliangye, achieving new commercial revenue and successfully expanding artistic expression, celebrity participation, and business integration.
These culturally rich and heartfelt greetings became a warm current during the New Year, trending across platforms and eliciting sincere audience responses. One netizen, moved by Tian Qing's words, commented: "An old horse knows the way but doesn't take old paths; a leading horse avoids dangers; ten thousand horses avoid narrow paths—smooth sailing by staying true to one's rhythm. Kudos to Mr. Tian Qing!" Another viewer, captivated by artist Li Xiang's分享, reflected: "Listening to Li Xiang, one finds tranquility in nature and authenticity in brushstrokes. Art has its way—quiet yet powerful, worthy of savoring." A third praised Wang Guanqing's ink works: "While known for ink oxen, his horses are majestic and free, both realms mastered with complementary techniques, standing unique in contemporary art."
From the Dragon Year's inception to the Snake Year's refinement and the Horse Year's ascent, "Celebrity New Year Greetings" has continuously invigorated traditional culture through quality artistry, bridging heritage with modern perspectives. It has also accumulated replicable experience in developing premium cultural IPs and commercial value. As a benchmark for CCTV's New Year cultural dissemination, the 2026 edition vividly demonstrates this legacy—using refined art as the brush, contemporary responsibility as the ink, and masters' sincerity as the colors to sketch a lively vision of traditional culture's creative evolution on the canvas of the Bingwu Horse Year.
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