Galloping into a new journey with auspicious clouds, spring fills the divine land celebrating reunion. The 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Horse, themed "Steeds Galloping Unstoppably," presented a global Chinese audience with an audio-visual feast blending cultural heritage and contemporary spirit. In this highly anticipated cultural event, faculty and students from multiple Beijing universities once again demonstrated their prowess, injecting fresh academic vitality into the gala through scientific achievements, artistic creativity, stage visual design, and zodiac-themed gift creation. Their professional expertise became a crucial support for the innovative expression of traditional culture and the conveyance of the modern spirit.
China Agricultural University promoted agricultural advancement through technology, sharing the joy of harvest. Sun Qixin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at the University's College of Agronomy, was invited to the gala. He not only extended New Year greetings but also showcased premium agricultural products like "Nongda 753" wheat, "Jingfen No. 6" eggs, and the Zhongzhan series of apples, expressing the firm belief of the agricultural community in safeguarding national food security through technology. Emotionally sharing that "responsibility, passion, and innovation ultimately boil down to two words—farmers," he also announced the song "Come Celebrate the Harvest," conveying the joyful news of China's 2025 total grain output reaching 1.4298 trillion jin. Additionally, Sha Ye, a 2024 doctoral graduate and student from the Science and Technology Backyard program, participated in two segments, "Come Celebrate the Harvest" and "Dreams Across Mountains and Seas," showcasing the vibrant spirit of the agricultural community. From the saline-alkali land of Quzhou, Hebei, to the gala stage, from serving local farmers to contributing to national food security, Sha Ye's appearance vividly represents the Science and Technology Backyard model—an innovation highlighted in the Central Government's No. 1 Document for two consecutive years, injecting continuous technological momentum into rural revitalization through grassroots practice. The dedication of the agricultural community, "planting dreams in the soil," filled the gala stage with the rich aroma of wheat and fruit.
Minzu University of China conveyed emotions through song and dance, fostering cultural resonance to warm the New Year. The dance piece "Stamping the Earth as Rhythm" marked the university's debut of an original solo dance performance on the CCTV gala. Commissioned by China Media Group, the program was co-directed by Professor Su Yafei from the University's Dance College and Ke Shujian, a director from the China National Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble, with participation from the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble and Spain's Jesús Carmona Dance Company. The work integrated China's Hani wooden clogs dance, the Lisu ethnic group's "Achi Mugua," Spanish Flamenco, and Hungary's traditional folk dance, Legényes. Through synchronized stomping, it portrayed an embrace of civilizations across mountains and seas, dancing with wishes for a bountiful new year. Director Ke Shujian, also a 2021 master's graduate from the University, stated, "This creation aimed for deeper integration, truly embedding these cultures together. The concept of the earth belongs to you, me, and everyone; dancing together on this foundation builds mutual emotion. Stamping the earth as rhythm, joining hands in dance—this is the spiritual state we sought."
Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication painted a reunion scene with light and shadow, empowering the visual feast with technology. Through innovative "art + technology" practice, the Institute created a heartwarming visual narrative for the gala's finale, "Unforgettable Tonight." The Holographic Art Laboratory team from the School of Design Art spent over a hundred days overcoming challenges to complete core dynamic visual design and multi-screen system presentation. Using "a myriad of household lights" as the core imagery, they transformed family reunion scenes into an artistic expression resonating with the entire nation. The visuals depicted happy family moments through window silhouettes, with city nightscapes and starlit skies outside, and slowly rising red lanterns, constructing a beautiful意境 of "shared hearts between family and nation, connected by lights." Facing the complex screen system and ultra-high resolution demands of the gala studio, the team adopted a "systematic visual" approach to coordinate content production for optimal results. After extensive day-and-night efforts involving creative conception, technical testing, rendering simulations, version iterations, and on-site adaptation through hundreds of optimizations, they introduced spatial organization methods from holographic language to enhance light layering and spatial penetration. This expanded the visual depth while maintaining the song's warm tone, creating an immersive experience that "transcends the space of Studio One." Furthermore, faculty and students contributed to the preliminary creative development of the segment "Praising the Flower Goddess," using AI technology for 3D modeling and dynamic simulation of the Palace Museum's "White Jade Monthly Set of Pendants," providing inspiration for the program's visual effects. This not only created highlight moments for the gala but also demonstrated the Institute's achievements in deep integration of research and teaching, collaborative innovation between art and technology, and industry-education synergy.
China Conservatory of Music played the sounds of the era with traditional music, celebrating the New Year with elegant harmony. Faculty and students from the Conservatory showcased their exquisite skills in multiple key segments, conveying New Year blessings and cultural depth through traditional Chinese music. President Li Xincao conducted the song and dance performance "World Yiwu Chinese New Year" at the Yiwu branch venue. The program blended classic melodies like "Tea-Picking Dance Song" with "We Are the World," accompanied by performances from Jackie Chan and American singer Lionel Richie, highlighting the inclusivity and festive atmosphere of the "world supermarket" and presenting an audio-visual feast with both Chinese style and international perspective. Li Yuhe, Deputy Director of the Orchestral Music Department, served as the lead performer in the opening segment "Immediate Miracles," collaborating with musicians playing the horsehead fiddle, erhu, and cello. The integration of Chinese and Western instruments, with passionate melodies depicting a scene of ten thousand horses galloping, set a joyful tone for the gala's opening. Additionally, doctoral students Zhu Zhenghuai, Gao Ruixuan, and Luo Yuanyuan from the Vocal Music and Opera Department performed in "Small Family, Yearly Joy" and "Congratulations," interpreting classic New Year songs with diverse singing styles like folk and bel canto, showcasing the Conservatory's profound accumulation in cultivating national vocal music talent.
Beijing Union University demonstrated exquisite craftsmanship in designing zodiac gifts, revitalizing intangible cultural heritage elements. The Horse Year blessing gift "Auspicious Steed Bringing Blessings" Spring Bowl, designed by the team led by Shen Wenguang from the University's College of Art, appeared at the gala. This marks the second year the team has undertaken the design task for the "Spring Bowl" project. After successfully completing the design for the 2025 Snake Year "Ruyi Spring Bowl," Shen Wenguang's team was invited again in June 2025 to design the 2026 Horse Year "Spring Bowl." Professor Shen, the chief designer, had previously participated as a core member in the design of national medals and honors. Over three months, his team created more than 50 design schemes in different styles, incorporating intangible cultural heritage elements like clay sculpture, paper-cutting, brocade, cloisonné, gold lacquer inlay, and shadow puppetry into various designs, actively exploring ways to integrate heritage into modern life.
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