Chinese chefs show off stunning noodle-making skills at Spring Festival Gala

A troupe of talented Chinese chefs showed off their stunning noodle-making skills in a special on-stage performance during the Spring Festival Gala, an annual celebratory show hosted by the China Media Group (CMG) on the eve of the Chinese New Year on Friday.

The innovative segment, which was directed by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou, brought the noodle masters from the Chinese provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi to the main gala venue in Beijing. The chefs demonstrated their masterful technique as they skillfully transformed dough into a variety of delicate noodle shapes by hand.

The accomplished chefs artistically showcased various skills associated with their craft, including shaving noodles, stretching slender noodles, pulling belt noodles, and blowing dough balloons, presenting audiences with a diverse array of Chinese culinary culture, while also symbolizing a bumper harvest for the Year of the Dragon.

The chefs’ cooking show ran in sync with a stirring musical and dance routine, which saw singers and performers from all over China use distinctive local dialects and musical instruments to deliver songs depicting daily life, while also highlighting the various food cultures and folk traditions of different regions across the country.

The gala, also known as “Chunwan,” was first broadcast back in 1983 and is seen as a major cultural symbol for the traditional Spring Festival celebrations in China.

Recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s most-watched annual TV program, the hours-long television extravaganza attracts over a billion views every year.

The 2024 Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, fell on Feb 10 this year, ushering in the Year of the Dragon.