Two dancers dressed up as a dragon (left) and a phoenix perform a dance Long Feng Cheng Xiang (prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix) during the China Central Television's Spring Festival gala on Jan 22. [Photo/Xinhua]

"For the first time the gala had a Hong Kong singer, Cheung Ming-men. The song My Chinese Heart made me cry. I know that might be difficult for people to understand today. But for me it was really a milestone to have him on stage. The cultures of Hong Kong and the mainland were so different and far away then. But Cheung made us feel connected," he said.

In 1985 the gala moved into the Beijing Workers' Gymnasium for the first time. But the technology was not as advanced as today and the crew took six hours to finish the recording.

The gala also gave birth to stars. Eating Noodles, the first skit in China by Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao, was one of the most popular programs in 1984 thanks to its witty plots. Chen played the role of Chen Xiaoer, a jobless man who went for a movie audition. Zhu played the role of the movie director.

"We had no idea about what xiao pin (skit) is then. We just made it simple and funny," said Chen, who is considered one of the most successful comedians in China. "From the script to the clothes we wore on the stage, we took care of everything. We were so worried because we had no experience at all. The program received widespread praise, beyond our wildest dreams."

But times are changing.

"The gala is much more complicated than before. Like our country, it developed fast," Huang said. "The changes are good and bad."

The gala's popularity has been in decline in recent years. Going through media reports and blogging comments on the 2011 show marking the Year of the Rabbit, one could easily see that the number of comments slamming the event were far greater than before.

According to CCTV's own market research of 2,098 families, some 93.88 percent nationwide watched the 2011 gala, and 81.92 percent of them gave the show high marks. But according to the Beijing Evening News, one online survey of 10,000 respondents showed as much as 59 percent said they were disappointed with the show and only 6 percent expressed satisfaction.

Moreover, several TV stations, including those in Hunan and Jiangsu provinces as well as Shanghai, launched their own variety shows in 2012 to compete with CCTV for audience and advertising.

This is a far cry from the show's heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. Then it was almost the only show that could bring three generations of families to sit in front of the television.

From its inaugural show, the gala targeted all demographic groups and ethnicities and the format has remained more or less the same.

The show also tends to feature the same small group of celebrities every year. Zhao Benshan, a comedian who has portrayed a witty farmer every year since 1990, is regarded as one of the main attractions of the show.

"If the organizers don't follow audience tastes, even Zhao Benshan will loose his fans," Huang said.

"Each act of the gala is screened thoroughly months before New Year's Eve. If acts are not good enough they do not appear," said Chen, who stopped performing, due to copyright issues, on the gala after his last show in 1998 with his long-time partner Zhu. The gala launched many careers but some stars have turned down invitations to appear, preferring instead to do their own variety show.

Chen was invited to perform at the 2012 CCTV gala, but declined.

"I don't want my work to be re-edited by others. I also think that xiao pin should be changed into another form because the time is so different and what the viewers want to see is different," he said.