Tiantai, Zhejiang, with its spiritual foundation of the "culture of harmony" embodied by Hanshan and Shitou, embodies a captivating romance with its threefold splendor. The misty haze of the Tang Poetry Road, the perfection of Cinderella, and the ingenuity of millennia of craftsmanship weave together a unique oriental romance. This year, CCTV's Qixi Festival Gala will visit Zhexi Old Street in Tiantai. On August 29th, "As Wish This Evening—2025 CCTV Qixi Festival Gala," drawing on millennia of ancient charm and employing modern technology, will showcase the cultural and tourism charm of "Come to Tiantai Mountain, and everything will be perfect" to audiences nationwide, allowing the beauty of Tiantai's landscapes and cultural charm to perfectly embody the romance of Qixi Festival.
Zhexi Old Street, the cultural heart of Tiantai Ancient City, retains its charm dating back to the Tang and Song dynasties. The millennium-old Zhexi River blends seamlessly with bluestone pavements, ancient waterfront buildings, and the bustling urban life. This year's Qixi Festival Gala featured a series of scenes arranged along the Zhexi River, cleverly leveraging the natural water system of the Jiangnan water town to create a winding, ancient-inspired "water stage." This performance, combined with the meticulously arranged, ancient buildings of Zhexi Old Street's "one block, two streets," created the image of a "magpie bridge over a galaxy of stars." Amidst the shimmering waters, a dazzling cast of performers danced on the water, their voices echoing through the ripples and complementing the vibrant lights along the shore, transporting the audience to a paradise.
"Water Stage"
Nearly a thousand drones were deployed along the banks of Zhexi River for the evening's performance. They gracefully ascended to the accompaniment of Zhou Shen's performance of "Mountains, Seas, and You," gradually spreading out in the twilight and soaring over the river. Thousands of points of light not only outlined the majestic peaks of Tiantai Mountain but also converged into a brilliant Milky Way, reflecting off the surface of the Zhexi River, creating a magical spectacle of heaven and earth mirroring each other.
The legend of the "Two Immortals of Harmony and Unity" has been circulating in Tiantai Mountain since ancient times. Tiantai Zhexi, an ancient river that has witnessed the elegance and romance of the Tang and Song dynasties and is imbued with the splendor of poetry, perfectly blends the romantic imagination of the ancients with contemporary emotional expression in the Qixi Festival evening party, making the "tenderness like water" of Qixi Festival a contemporary romantic emotion that connects the past and the present and integrates heaven and earth.
The romantic Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once lamented in Tiantai, "Dragon towers and phoenix palaces refuse to stay, soaring straight to Tiantai." The program "Magpie Bridge Gathering" cleverly integrates the cultural heritage of Tiantai's "Tang Poetry Road." Using Li Bai's famous lines as a guide, and echoing the singing of guest performers Ouyang Nana and Huang Zihongfan, the program recreates the poet's vast artistic conception of "starry rivers hanging down," allowing Li Bai's romance to find a contemporary echo among the mountains and rivers of Tiantai.
Tiantai Mountain's profound intangible cultural heritage resonated with the Qiqiao (Qiqiao) tradition, closely tied to the Qixi Festival gala. The skillful and ingenious "one vine" craftsmanship of Tiantai artisans conveyed the beautiful meaning of endless life and continuity; the soft, glutinous, and sweet intangible cultural heritage pastries added a touch of sweetness to the gala; and the Tiantai ramie cloth-making technique, closely tied to local folklore, wove important moments of warmth and happiness. The gala also featured over ten other intangible cultural heritage items, including bamboo weaving, gold-lacquer sculptures, silver seal carving, paper cutting, and velvet flower wrapping. These timeless memories echoed the culture and vividly illustrated the intersection of Tiantai's rich history and the romantic atmosphere of Qixi Festival.
The bustling Zhexi Old Street is filled with the romance of fireworks.