On February 6, the 2026 UAE “Happy Chinese New Year” Grand Gala event was successfully held at the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Abu Dhabi. The Jilin Provincial Culture and Art Troupe and the Hunan Acrobatic Art Theatre performed together. Zhao Liang, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in the UAE, Mohammed, Chairman of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, and friendly representatives from various sectors of China and the UAE attended the event, experiencing Chinese culture together with UAE audiences and celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival. According to statistics from the Sheikh Zayed Festival, the number of visitors to the festival site that day was about 18,000.
In his speech, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Zhao stated that as the Spring Festival of the Year of the Horse arrives, “Happy Chinese New Year” has once again come to the well-known Sheikh Zayed Festival, allowing the people of the UAE to experience the joyful and harmonious Spring Festival culture up close. The horse is a shared symbol of both Chinese and Arab cultures and is deeply loved by the peoples of the two countries. He expressed his wish that China-UAE relations in the Year of the Horse will gallop forward like a fine steed, making steady progress and achieving long-term development, and writing a new chapter.
The performance opened with the magnificent percussion piece “Drum Spirit,” quickly igniting the atmosphere. The guzheng piece “Moonlit Night on the Spring River,” the pipa piece “Ambush on All Sides,” the dizi piece “Whipping the Horse to Hurry the Grain Transport,” the zhongruan piece “Camel Bells on the Silk Road,” the sheng piece “Joyful Water-Splashing Festival,” and the Chinese folk music ensemble pieces “Blooming Flowers and Full Moon” and “Joyful” successively played Spring Festival blessings. The song “Spring Ballet” expressed the joy of celebrating the Spring Festival together. The acrobatic performance “Ode to the Harvest and Bamboo Hat Song” showcased farming culture with exquisite skills. The magic show “Umbrella and Fruit Fantasy” drew cheers from the audience. The contortion act “Rhythm of Spring” demonstrated strength and beauty. The dances “Jasmine Flower,” “White Horse Dance,” and “Harvest Blessings” pushed the performance to a climax through the combination of traditional Chinese music and dance. The erhu piece “Horse Racing” was passionate and unrestrained, galloping in with blessings for the Year of the Horse.
The fireworks show from Liuyang, Hunan, served as the grand finale of the gala, lighting up the night sky of the Sheikh Zayed Festival. The colorful lights complemented the “Auspicious Horse” mascot of “Happy Chinese New Year” on the festival lighthouse, blending with the cheers of the audience and bringing the entire event to a climax, winning rounds of applause.
The “Nihao!China” winter tourism promotion event organized by the China Cultural Center in the UAE was highly popular. Centered on the theme of China’s winter inbound tourism, the event booth attracted many local UAE residents through interactive sessions such as winter tourism promotional video screenings, calligraphy and painting experiences, prize quizzes on winter tourism knowledge, and Year of the Horse Spring Festival photo check-ins, enabling participants to gain deeper understanding of China’s winter folk customs and tourism characteristics.
The 2026 UAE “Happy Chinese New Year” Grand Gala event was guided by the Chinese Embassy in the UAE, supported by the Hunan Provincial Government, jointly organized by the China Cultural Center in the UAE and the Jilin Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and hosted by the Jilin Provincial Center for International Cultural Exchange.
