Beginning 20:00 hours Friday, China Central Television (CCTV), the leading television broadcaster in the country, presented a splendid art performance to hundreds of millions of viewers around the world.

It was the grand CCTV Spring Festival Evening Get-Together that once again entertained Chinese families who will stay late into the night for the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year.

According to CCTV sources, more than 40 vivid, colorful items were staged in a 1,000 sq m-hall where many veteran or promising new stars will turn up in a rich variety of programs.

Since 1984, when CCTV hosted its first such evening party, it has been annual routine menu, which usually lasts some four hours,and is one of the most popular CCTV programs.

However, it has become a tough job for CCTV staffers to prepare the program and they have to work harder still to attract the audiences. "The evening party should be something special to make people feel relaxed since everyone has been working so hard for a whole year," said Zhao An, one of the program's co-directors-in-general.

Zhao Wei, who has been an upcoming star after playing her role with flying colors in a TV drama serial "Princess Huanzhu", will be main emcee this evening, whereas Zhao Zhongxiang and Ni Ping, who had run the show for years, will make way to new stars.

Niu Qun and Feng Gong, two cross-talk masters, and Cui Yongyuan, a prestigious young man in another popular CCTV program "Speaking the Mind", will also preside over the evening party.

Among those familiar to compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as to overseas Chinese and foreign nationals of Chinese origin the world over, there will be a number of famous performing singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

(Xinhua)