Zhanjiang: a familiar face of Spring Festival holiday

The Suixi Lion Dance is featured on the inter-cut public service short film of the Spring Festival Gala. [Photo/China Central Television]

Be it families gathering around to watch the Spring Festival Gala or moviegoers enjoying a holiday flick, both will be surprised to find that the southern city of Zhanjiang has probably graced their eyes in some form.

Zhanjiang was featured prominently on the Spring Festival Gala, a Chinese New Year special produced by China Central Television. It is also the world's most watched television with a minimum viewership of over 700 million every year.

Multiple local scenic spots and customs such as Shangguo Ancestral Hall in Wuyang town, the Suixi Lion Dance and night views of the Jinsha Bay were featured on the "Chinese footprint, Chinese festival", an inter-cut public service short film of the gala.

The coastal city was also shown in full glory at the start of the show, as People's Liberal Army Navy service members proudly displayed their patriotic fervor. With shoulders back and chests puffed, the sailors shouted in unison: "This is our Country", amidst the backdrop of the Zhanjiang's clear skies and oceans.

Some scenes of Operation Red Sea, an anti-terrorism film regarding Chinese navy's evacuation of Chinese nationals from Yemen are shot in Zhanjiang. [Photo/Zhanjiang Daily]

The strategic Chinese city also showed up in the latest Chinese box office hit, Operation Red Sea, directed by Lin Chaoxian. The film, which is about the Chinese navy's evacuation of Chinese nationals from Yemen in 2015, brought the Leizhou Peninsula  into the forefront, as many of the shooting locations were centered on Zhanjiang, due to it being the South China Sea Fleet's command center.

Yang Dongsheng, chief director of Spring Festival Gala, who recently toured the city, extended hopes that Zhanjiang will one day host a parallel session, due to its rapid development and flowering reputation.

The press conference for the film, Operation Red Sea, is held in Zhanjiang on July 9, 2017. [Photo/Zhanjiang Daily]