Robot Performance Steals the Show at 2025 Spring Festival Gala
The 2025 CCTV Spring Festival Gala featured several notable moments, with the groundbreaking robot dance performance emerging as a highlight. Other memorable segments included traditional opera fusion, international collaboration, and touching tributes to Chinese culture and achievements.

The 2025 CCTV Spring Festival Gala marked a significant milestone in the evolution of China’s most-watched annual entertainment event, particularly through its innovative integration of technology and tradition.
The robot dance performance emerged as the Gala’s most talked-about segment. The two-legged robots, while still showing some limitations in movement fluidity, demonstrated remarkable progress in synchronized dance capabilities. This performance symbolized China’s advancing technological prowess, though some viewers noted the robots' movements still lacked the natural grace of human dancers.
The traditional opera fusion piece “Borrowing the Umbrella” successfully blended different regional opera styles, including Peking, Cantonese, Sichuan, and Vietnamese opera variations of “The White Snake Legend.” The segment, featuring veteran performers Ye Tong and Zhao Yazhi, created a touching bridge between past and present, though some audience members found its length challenging.
International elements added special significance to this year’s Gala. The presence of Irwin Kerr, only the third individual in history to receive China’s state gift porcelain, highlighted growing cultural exchange. He joined the estimated 1.4 billion viewers in celebrating the Chinese New Year, following in the footsteps of previous recipients Rabe and White.
The Gala also featured a groundbreaking initiative for accessibility, providing special broadcasts for hearing and visually impaired viewers. Sign language performers worked tirelessly to interpret the entire show, making it accessible to over 20 million hearing-impaired viewers across China.
The comedy segments received mixed reactions, with the most memorable line coming from the audience: “Suggest Yue Yunpeng shouldn’t perform at the Spring Festival Gala anymore,” which unexpectedly became one of the evening’s most quoted phrases.
Traditional music performances maintained their usual high standards, while the regional venue broadcasts from cities like Wuhan and Jiangsu each brought their unique cultural characteristics to the celebration. The Wuhan segment particularly resonated with viewers through its display of the city’s resilient spirit.