2010 Spring Festival Gala: Heads-up; Anticipation and Watching Live!

[realmayo]

made it back in time for "let's pai a picture"

[roddy]

Last year wasn't this patriotic, was it?

[realmayo]

Midnight. So Happy Valentines everyone....

[trisha2766]

I downloaded the firefox plugins it said I needed and I still can't get it to work.

Does anyone know if you have kylin tv can you watch it live?

[student]

Try using Internet Explorer... that was the only way I could get it to work.

[realmayo]

Last year wasn't this patriotic, was it?

Reuters report Wen saying:

"In 2010, China will face a more complicated situation, both at home and abroad," the state news agency Xinhua paraphrased Wen as saying, in remarks carried in major newspapers.

People must "keep a sober mind and an enhanced sense of anxiety about lagging behind," the premier added.

[Don_Horhe]

That dude standing on 4 fingers was awesome!

[Xiwang]

Last year wasn't this patriotic, was it?

I remember seeing a Taiwan one several years ago where guys in military fatigues rappelled from the ceiling and then went into martial arts routines after landing on the ground. Very impressive.

[Xiwang]

OMG, I see cleavage. However, the camera seemed to have aimed a bit higher for the one close-up shot of her.

[adrianlondon]

Sure IE works the same way but Firefox tried to stream CCTV and then told me that I need to be in China to watch it. At that point (as I already use the same thing to watch BBC iPlayer stuff here in Switzerland) I could either reconfigure Tor with China exit points or ...

Use TVUplayer. Search and download - it's free and small. It's a client which allows people (often the broadcasters themselves) to upload a video stream for people to watch. Many of the CCTV channels are usually available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TVUnetworks

Having said all that, I assume it's all over now, what with it being around 2:30am in Beijing.

[Outofin]

I think that was a very successful show. I can easily name 4 excellent programs: 刘谦、小虎队、王菲、赵本山. Overall quality was good too.

[Meng Lelan]

I am watching the CCTV 高清 channel, and I wonder, really, why do people watch it? Are there not better things to do?

You are correct, skylee, there are better things to do. I didn't watch it because I was in Houston for wushu training and performances at my shifu's school.

[eatfastnoodle]

I stopped watching it at least 20 years ago when I was still in high school. No kidding, the quality of the program has gone down hill ever since early 90s. I don't know what kind of programs they put on nowadays, I wouldn't bet my money on it being quality programs. As for why people still watch it, I guess for generations older than mine, it's still kinda a tradition, sort of like networks always putting on Christmas program on or before Christmas day, I don't think as many people as claimed by CCTV actually watched it live, but I do think most people at least tune in sometime, if only to get a glance of what, arguably, a cultural tradition, looks like. I'm one of the very few who simply refuse to watch it, but most people I know do tune in, no matter how much they regret it afterward.

BTW, the current crop of artists are no comparison to the older generation, especially Cheng Peisi and Zhu Shimao, whose program is pretty much guaranteed of greathood.

[renzhe]

Tradition certainly plays a role.

But I also understand that young people watch it like they watch the Eurovision Song Contest in Europe -- to make fun of it.

But nothing beats the the Eurovision Song Contest in terms of shameless kitsch.

[eatfastnoodle]

I'm sorta a oddball even among Chinese, so I don't understand the appeals here, I do know, however, most people, if not all, people of my age turn in to watch the National Day Parade and the Spring Festival Gala, both of whom I consider grossly over-engineered, artistically speaking, which directly led to the precipitous fall in term of quality. Nonetheless, people still watch it. I don't understand, when I asked people who watched, people who actually watched, gave explanation I found not satisfied with. I'm sure my parents and my sisters still watch it, though. I guess it's a cultural and generational thing. (even most people I know watch it when I was in junior high, high school and college, what the heck? I never get the appeal.)

[Outofin]

I think in the beginning, people liked the show because there weren't too many other entertainment. But gradually, people felt bored about it. They only watched it out of a habit. There were a few years that no one was happy with the show. The public questioned the show's very existence.

But seriously, I think they're becoming better in recent years, bit by bit every year. Now, as you can see on the web, even younger age group watch it.

The show is designed for the whole nation, for workers, peasants, soldiers, students, rural and urban, north and south. So I don't expect too much from it. If I find half hour or one hour's program that fits my taste, I'll call it a successful show.

I think the show is so persistent because the new year eve is supposed to be a family gathering. It's good to have the show on TV when people are having dinner or playing majiang.

[gato]

It's been a tradition only since the 1980s. I believe the first Spring Festival Show was in 1984, when most families still did not own TVs.

[adrianlondon]

I've never watched it, but it seems Chinese NY / Spring festival time is a family affair like Christmas is in the UK. People watch all sorts of rubbish on the TV at that time as all the shops are shut and it's either watch crap TV or sit listening to drunk relatives say the same thing they said the year before, before eating too much and falling asleep.

In other words, the TV is a welcome distraction for a few hours. I wonder if it's the same in China.

[Neil_H]

I was able to watch it through Firefox.

It was also on Phoneix TV the next day so recorded it for some of our Chinese friends to see.

I am glad CCTV have sorted out their steams so you can watch stuff nowadays.

We have a small PC setup in the lounge hooked up to the Plasma just for watching Chinese TV.

[Outofin]

COOL, 刘谦 vs 韩寒!

After Han Han wrote 把魔术演成话剧 in his blog. Liu Qian rebutted by

1.我以为您不是会应为某些道听涂说，就妄下判断的人

2.我以为您不是会只了解一些粗浅魔术原理，就大方炫耀的人。

3.我以为您不是不了解表演艺术的精神和运作过程，就加以否定的人。

4.我以为你不是不了解魔术本质与存在意义，就自行定义的人。

(Sorry, I couldn't translate.) Liu demonstrated talents in many fronts. He can be a great writer and debater!