Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Zhuhai of Guangdong province has been chosen as one of five locations for simultaneous broadcast of the CCTV Spring Festival gala on Feb 15. The special economic zone's achievements will be cited as illustrative of national development since the Reform & Opening-up in 1978.

Celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve, the Central China Television's evening party is the country's most popular TV program. It has entertained audiences across the world since 1983. The variety show often features musical numbers, dances, comedy, and dramas, and always involves household names.

Beijing will host the main session, as it did last year. In addition to Beijing and Zhuhai, live broadcasting will also run simultaneously in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Guizhou, Qufu and Tai’an in Shandong, and Sanya in Hainan.

Epitomizing Zhuhai's coastal beauty, the famous tourist attraction Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Hengqin New Area will be one of the shooting venues; another will be China's amazing engineering marvel, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge -- the world's longest sea-spanning complex.

Stage setting and testing have been started by the gala's production team. Cutting-edge theatrical devices and visual effects will generate a happy atmosphere, and people's joy in greeting the Lunar New Year, as well as their prayers for blessings, will be recorded.

The theme for the Zhuhai production will be technology, ecology and culture, as Zhuhai excels in those areas, said an official from the Publicity Department of the municipal Party Committee. Zhuhai, as one of the first designated Special Economic Zones in 1980, was a bridgehead for opening to the outside world at that time. Strong implementation of the Reform & Opening up is still bearing fruits 40 years later, as the city is now active and vital on the international stage. It also has lived up to the goal of being "a new eco-civilized special economic zone and a demonstration city of scientific development" set for it by the State in 2012.