The 2022 National Village Spring Festival Gala warm up event is held in Shicang village, Lishui, on Jan 9. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

A livestreaming event to warm up for the 2022 National Village Spring Festival Gala was broadcasted on Jan 9 in Lishui in East China's Zhejiang province, the birthplace of the gala.

The Village Spring Festival Gala started in Lishui in 1981, years before the Spring Festival Gala held by China Central Television. After 40 years of development, the gala spread all over the country extending to around 69,000 villages in 552 counties, becoming a cultural symbol of China's rural areas.

Lishui has been promoting the inheritance, transformation, and utilization of rural culture in recent years. Through the integration of rural life, rural tourism, and the gala, Lishui formed its unique Village Spring Festival Gala brand. 

The warm-up event took place in Shicang village in Lishui's Songyang county and was broadcasted live online. The event showcased the rejuvenation of the village through the storyline of three generations – the old that never leave the village, the young that returned to their hometown, and the new comers to the village – all preparing for the upcoming Spring Festival.

Eight counties in Shandong, Hunan, Guizhou, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces and in Ningxia Hui autonomous region joined the live streaming and showcased their distinct rural cultures.