Gala Honours 90 Years of the Long March Through Art

Beijing, October 24: On October 22, a special television gala titled 'Hymn for the Long March' was broadcast across several China Media Group platforms at once. The event celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Long March's victory, achieved by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and drew a deep response from audiences.

The creative team has now shared a glimpse of the thinking behind the stage. The setup was planned as a gradual, layered journey, with each element designed to build on the last.

A collection of classic revolutionary songs formed the musical core of the gala. The numbers were arranged in a progressive order that heightened the emotional impact of the evening.

Another highlight came from 'The Red Army Is Coming' and 'Grassland Diary'. These programs fused song, dance and theatre across multiple dimensions and locations. They also introduced film music into the television setting. The music acted as the backbone of each story, following characters through the highs and lows of history and drawing the audience into the narrative.

AI technology was used on stage to connect different eras and places. Through it, pivotal moments of the Long March were brought to life again.

One of the most striking segments was 'Towards the Light'. Actor Li Xueyan played the leader of the Red Army's cooking squad, shown walking from darkness toward light with a burning oil lamp in hand.

Illness has affected Li Xueyan's ability to hear and speak. During rehearsals, the direction team relied entirely on text messages to communicate with him. The narration in his voice, featured in the broadcast, was generated using CMG's AI digital technology and refined through multiple rounds of debugging before it was complete.