Ring the changes(2)

"The stars are TV stations' biggest selling points. A five-hour live show that gathers nearly all the big names from Hong Kong, Taiwan, the mainland and other parts of the world is fun for audiences at the venue and TV viewers at home. A New Year's Eve countdown with the stars is very exciting and is also a new experience."

Zhang also points out the idea of kua nian, or the New Year's countdown, borrows from the end-of-the-year parties of Hong Kong and Taiwan, where the countdown is traditionally preceded by star performances.

In 2005, Hunan Satellite TV held the national Supergirl singing competition, which remains one of China's most popular televised talent extravaganzas. On Dec 31, 2005, the winners, including Li Yuchun, Jane Zhang and Zhou Bichang, performed at the New Year's Eve gala with other singers, including Hong Kong's David Tao and Taiwan's Will Pan.

The 4.5-hour show topped that year's national ratings. It has since become an annual event for the station.

There were 16 New Year's Eve galas on Chinese TV in December 2011, Zhang says. They cost a total of 500 million yuan ($79.4 million).

"When I looked at the performer lists, it was really unbelievable," Zhang says.

"It really is a big competition for the TV stations and a festival for audiences."

TV stations tried to book the hottest acts of the year for their end-of-2011 galas.

These include folk singer Gong Linna, who became an instant sensation for the song composed by her German husband, Tan Te, or Perturbed; newlywed Hong Kong singer-actress Karen Mok; and Taiwan singer-actor Nicky Wu, who performed at three TV stations' Dec 31 galas. Wu's TV series, Starling By Each Step, is one of the most watched of 2011.