By Yang Jie (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-01-30 09:43

With Spring Festival just around the corner, the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala is also stepping up preparations. The CCTV Spring Festival Gala preparatory committee conducted the first and second rehearsals of the gala respectively last Friday and last Sunday.

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi attends a news conference about director Chen Kaige's upcoming film "Mei Lanfang" in Beijing July 19, 2007. Zhang is set to show up at the Spring Festival Gala this year. [Agencies]

Right after, the first rehearsal news leaked out that famous Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi is set to show up at the Spring Festival Gala this year. The preparatory committee already has specially set aside a dresser for Zhang Ziyi, though it's still undecided as to what kind of performance Miss Zhang is going to bring to the audience.

The Olympic mood of Chinese people is also well reflected in this year's gala as people have expected all along. Celebrated Chinese comedian Zhao Benshan and his partner Song Dandan will perform a comedy called "Olympic Torch Bearers".

The comedy tells a story about an old couple who both register in an Olympic torch bearer competition. However, it turns out that the wife wins and the husband fails and feels unhappy, so the wife has to try to make the husband happy again. Though the plot of the comedy has leaked out, the two comedians did not rehearse their program either last Friday or last Sunday.

Hong Kong pop singer Gigi Leung and Eason Chan will collaborate with Chinese mainland singer Mao Ning an Olympic theme song called One Dream.

Based on the theme, "Thriving China, Harmonious Society," the Spring Festival Gala 2008 highlights Chinese people"s efforts to build a harmonious society. Twenty-one migrant workers will present a program called "Song of the Rural Migrant Worker."

The leading singer is Wang Baoqiang, a newly rising Chinese entertainment star, who was originally an ordinary Chinese farmer but became famous across the country after a role in the film A World Without Theives. A World Without Theives, directed by Feng Xiaogang, was released in 2004.

The Gala also includes a crosstalk depicting the 2008 Chinese stock market craze.

New Years countdown remains an important highlight of this year's gala. In light of the fact that last year's countdown turned into a mess after several hosts made some careless mistakes, the committee has put even more focus on rehearsing this year's countdown.

Spring Festival Gala 2008 is to be hosted by eight hosts all together, all old faces. Seven hosts, all of them except for one male named Bi Fujian, will participate in the countdown.

The eve of this year's Spring Festival falls on February 6 and the CCTV Gala often starts at around 8pm on that day.

The first CCTV Spring Festival Gala came in 1984, like 2004, also a Year of Rat. Since then, CCTV Spring Festival Gala has developed into a classic four-hour long program entertaining Chinese people all through the Eve of the Lunar New Year.