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The Spring Festival Gala (春晚) is China's biggest annual TV event, broadcast on state TV on Chinese New Year's Eve. It features music, dance, comedy, and cultural performances, all carefully curated to align with official propaganda narratives.
This year’s show attracted the highest viewership in a decade—39.1% of the Chinese population tuned in, according to media reports.
Bilibili (哔哩哔哩 or B站), secured the rights to live-stream the Gala for the first time, beating other social media platforms to it, like WeChat, Youku, and Douyin.
Popular among young audiences in China, Bilibili is a video-sharing platform known for its focus on anime, gaming, and subculture content. It’s often compared to YouTube but it stands out for its interactive “bullet comments” or danmu (弹幕 dànmù) feature, where real-time user comments scroll across the screen from right to left.
Danmu (弹幕) literally means "bullet curtain" and it originated from Japan. The concept first appeared in 2006 on the Japanese video-sharing platform Niconico, where players could display on-screen comments while gaming, creating an interactive experience with other users.
Around 2008–9, Bilibili introduced danmu to its streaming services. It quickly caught on in China with platforms like iQiyi, Youku, and Tencent Video also incorporating danmu to enhance audience interaction.
Danmu, and the community vibe it creates, is one of Bilibili's defining features—when you think Bilibili, you think of danmu.
So on announcing it had won the live-stream rights for the Gala, Bilibili's campaign focussed on this community feature, with the slogan:
"Watch the Spring Festival Gala with 300 million young people"
和3亿年轻人一起看春晚。
This generated high anticipation among its young user base, who saw it as an opportunity to engage directly with other viewers—possibly bringing less propaganda and more playfulness to the show.
However, during the live broadcast, excitement quickly turned to disappointment when users realised that comments were restricted, with only a limited set of pre-set short messages allowed.
Those who attempted to share their own real-time comments faced frustrations: the text was limited to two lines, the uploading process was painfully slow, and even when comments finally were accepted, they were drowned out by a flood of pre-set messages filling the screen, such as:
“hahahaha” (哈哈哈哈)
"so surreal" (太抽象了)
"Happy Chinese New Year!” (新年快乐)
To make matters worse, technical glitches plagued the broadcast. At one point, a massive pop-up ad hijacked the screen, blocking the entire show. For viewers outside China, Bilibili's international version had stripped away the danmu feature altogether, leaving only the gift-giving function. And those hoping to switch off the danmu faced even more frustration when they realised it wasn't possible—stuck with having to sit through "pre-made comments" (预制弹幕).
Disappointed users took to social media to express their frustration:
The so-called "Spring Festival Gala with danmu" offered no real interaction at all—it was just the product of IT and AI.
I tried typing a random complaint, but it wouldn't show up on the screen. I couldn't even send a simple "?". All that appeared on the screen were positive comments.
所谓的“弹幕春晚”，毫无互动可言，全是科技和AI的影子。我试着随便打出一句吐槽的话，结果上不了窗口。连个“？”都发不出去。屏幕显示的也都是“好评”。
Bilibili responded saying the decision was made to meet regulatory requirements:
This is a response to the "regulatory pressure" during live broadcasts. To ensure a smooth process, platforms use pre-made danmu to avoid potentially sensitive or controversial content.
这是为了应对直播中“监管压力”，为了确保过程的顺利，平台会使用预制弹幕，来避免潜在的敏感争议内容。
But for Bilibili users, the platform’s censorship undermined the interactive experience the it’s known for:
The platform also claimed that pre-set bullet comments could make it more interactive, fun and lively.
However, in reality, they made the entire Spring Festival Gala live stream dull, where these cold, pre-programmed comments extinguished everyone's enthusiasm.
平台还声称预制弹幕能增加互动性和趣味性，营造活跃氛围，可实际情况却是，它让整个春晚直播变得索然无味，大家的热情被这冰冷的预制弹幕浇灭。
Bilibili purchased the Spring Festival Gala broadcasting rights to boost user growth, increase engagement, and enhance brand awareness. While it didn’t quite deliver on the first two, it certainly succeeded in the latter—though for the wrong reasons.
Which is what we’re exploring this week!
🎧 Member Podcast Preview: This week, we explain how to use the common structure “图个…”, which means "to seek something out”. Common uses include "look for some fun" (图个热闹), "seeking convenience" (图个方便), and the rhetorical question "what are you trying to do?" (图个啥). We also explain the subtle difference between two idioms often used in discussions about danmu, which may seem similar but are actually quite different: "dull and uninteresting" (索然无味) and "feeling unsettled about the future" (食不甘味). Tune in to learn how and when to use these colourful phrases!
Favourite Five
1. 弹幕 dàn mù
bullet comments, on-screen comments
满屏的弹幕，没有一句不宽容的话，全是赞美 - The screen was filled with praises, with not a single critical comment to be found. [1]
2. 破防 pò fáng
emotionally overwhelmed
谁能想到，让我这个老B站用户破防的，居然是那满屏的预制弹幕 - Who would have thought that I, a longtime Bilibili user, was so triggered by the flood of pre-set danmu? [4]
3. 参与感 cān yù gǎn
sense of participation
这种互动性会让我觉得与春晚的联系更加紧密，增加了参与感和社交互动 - This interactive feature allows more participation and engagement, which makes the Spring Festival Gala more relatable. [2]
Related:
社区感 shè qū gǎn – sense of community
新鲜感 xīn xiān gǎn – sense of novelty
归属感 guī shǔ gǎn – sense of belonging
4. 石沉大海 shí chén dà hǎi
disappear without a trace
我试图发送自己的弹幕，等来的不是石沉大海，就是经过漫长审核后才出现 - When I tried to post my own danmu, it either failed completely or only appeared on screen after a long review process. [4]
5. 索然无味 suǒ rán wú wèi
dull
可实际情况却是，它让整个春晚直播变得索然无味 - But in reality, it made the entire Spring Festival Gala live stream dull. [4]
More: Read more about this idiom in this week’s Sinica Phrase of the Week.
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Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 预制 yù zhì
pre-made
