Grassroots gala goes viral

On Chinese New Year's Eve this year — Feb 16 — as millions of families settle in to watch the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, a very different kind of celebration is set to capture the attention of young audiences online.

Instead of gathering around the television, many young people will be scrolling through their phones, flocking to a Bilibili channel called "Fangshan Chuzi" to experience a unique Spring Festival Gala entirely produced by university students.

There are no celebrity lineups or grand stage effects. Rather, viewers see slightly rough video quality, shaky camerawork, dorm-room backdrops, fast-moving danmu — or bullet comments — and inside jokes only fellow young people can truly appreciate. This grassroots gala, wild and unpolished, is quietly becoming an essential cultural ritual for Generation Z during the festival.

The project was launched in 2025 by content creator Fu Yiqiang, 28, from Xinyu in Jiangxi province.

As a former university lecturer, Fu noticed that campus life and mainstream narratives often left little room for students' individuality. This observation inspired him to create the University Students Spring Festival Gala — a platform offering young people a rare sense of being seen and understood.

"In real life, students and children are often being lectured to; parents and teachers don't always truly listen. By creating this gala, we are amplifying students' voices," Fu said.

What began as an experiment quickly became a surprise hit. The student-produced gala attracted more than 50 million views across platforms including Bilibili and Douyin in 2025, while related discussions surpassed 100 million mentions online.

Building on its first-year success, the 2026 gala has seen explosive growth. Fu said volunteer applications surged to 2,719, program submissions reached 416, and around 30 shows will be presented.