A worker hangs up red lanterns to greet the coming Spring Festival at Shijingshan Amusement Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

An array of high-tech including 5G, Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D effects are expected to be used in the upcoming 2020 Spring Festival Gala, to dazzle viewers with new year entertainment. 

The preparation work for the annual Spring Festival Gala is in full swing. It will be hosted by the state-run television network China Media Group (CMG), and will be broadcast on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve on January 24 to welcome the Year of the Rat.

This year's gala aims to dazzle viewers with cutting-edge high technologies, which will bring users a brand-new viewing experience, according to a ceremony launched by CMG on January 14. 

5G networks will cover all venues for the Spring Festival Gala, including the main venue in Beijing, and sub-venues in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province. 

4K signals for mobile shooting based on 5G networks have already been connected to the production system for the gala, providing strong support for full 4K intelligent live broadcasting of the event, which means viewers will be able to enjoy a visual feast brought by 8K Ultra HD. 

The virtual network interactive production mode (VNIS) will also be applied in the Spring Festival Gala for the first time. Users can watch the VR live broadcast and multi-perspective panoramic live broadcast of the gala through the apps of China Central Television (CCTV). 

This year's gala stage setting has richer functions and will strive to achieve a naked eye 3D effect for the audience, said Yang Dongsheng, chief director of the 2020 gala, in a recent TV program.

"I think it is a very good idea to update the gala in a technological way. It is going to be a brand new and exciting viewing experience for the audience, especially the old generation, like my parents who usually don't read news about the cutting-edge technologies," Zhao Yonglan, a loyal fan of the Spring Festival Gala told Global Times on Monday. 

Another of this year's gala highlights is the language programs - Chinese comedians' stand-up skits and social-commentary sketches. 

This year's gala will use the language programs to reflect contemporary social issues - small stories eulogizing big themes, and ordinary people expressing great feelings, reported CCTV, adding that the programs will focus on a variety of professional groups, including military personnel, police, doctors and entrepreneurs, with a keen insight into social hot topics and people's livelihoods.

A majority of internet users on China's Twitter-like Weibo praised the change and expressed their anticipation. 

A survey conducted by Sanlian Lifeweek Magazine on Weibo found that 73 percent of the respondents chose the language programs as their favorite part of the gala. A total of 123,000 users had taken the survey online as of Thursday. 

Besides the gala itself, grabbing red envelopes online became another hot spot for the gala audience after internet companies vowed to offer a large amount of red envelopes during the gala. 

Kuaishou, a popular streaming platform in China, said the company is expected to offer the audience a record high number of red envelopes as the exclusive interactive partner of the red envelope project for the 2020 gala. The cash will range from 66.6 yuan ($9.7) to 2,020 yuan ($288), amounting to 1 billion yuan ($140 million) in total. 

To receive red envelopes, users only need to watch videos posted under the designed theme of "Year of a thumb-up China" on the platform. 

China's Amazon-like e-commerce platform Taobao will also cooperate with the gala to distribute red-envelopes worth 1 billion yuan in total and shopping offers for 50,000 consumers on New Year's Eve.

Netizens hailed the upcoming "red-envelope rain," getting ready to welcome a lucky new year. 

Global Times