The 2017 China Central Television Spring Festival Gala has been held on the eve of the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

The gala on Friday lasted for four and a half hours with more than 40 show numbers, over half of them were song and dance performances and nine others, in the genres of cross-talks and comedies. Acrobatics, magic shows, and traditional Chinese operas of various schools were also part of the line-up.

In addition to the main studio at the CCTV headquarters in Beijing, there were four telecast sub-venues in Shanghai, Xichang, Guilin and Harbin representing the east, west, south and north of the country respectively, and providing live feeds to the super gala show.

This Lunar New Year marks the start of the Year of the Rooster, as Chinese astrology has 12 zodiac animals--rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Since 1983, the Spring Festival Gala has become an annual tradition for Chinese families on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

It remains one of the longest-running and most-watched broadcasts in Chinese television history. It will be one of the most discussed topics on social media during the 7-day Lunar New Year holiday.