Chinese New Year 2017: Here is everything to know about CCTV Spring Festival Gala

CCTV Spring Festival Gala, a must watch star-studded event, is annually broadcast live on the first day of Chinese New Year. This year it falls on Saturday, January 28, and popular artists from the entertainment industry, including Fan Bingbing and Li Chen, are expected to perform on stage.

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The preparations for the New Year's Gala are in full swing and the first rehearsal is scheduled to begin this week. One of the major attractions for the year is a segment in language category, which will include comedic sketches and crosstalk.

From the 100 entries in the special segment, around 12 of them are expected to make it to the annual event, stated Yang Dongsheng, the chief director of Spring Festival Evening Gala 2017.

Meanwhile, people across the globe are eagerly waiting for the celebrity line-up of the most important event in the Chinese calendar. But the organisers are yet to release the names of its VIP attendees.

Recently, CCTV had invited popular Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui to be a part of the Spring Festival Gala this year. According to the committee members, she cannot reject the offer as the decision was made considering an increase in demand by netizens, The Paper reported.

Another popular search related to the Chinese New Year Gala is on how and where to buy tickets. The Central Television broadcasting network has already revealed that it does not sell tickets to attend the festival. But several online service providers have been selling tickets and many people end up buying them paying thousands of dollars for fake tickets.

The Spring Festival Gala 2017 will be telecast live through CCTV from 8pm Beijing Time on the Chinese New Year's eve. The annual event will last for around four hours and it will feature songs, dances, talk shows, traditional operas, comedies, martial arts and acrobatics.