As the most-watched cultural show on Chinese New Year’s Eve, the Chinese Spring Festival Gala showcases the charm of Chinese culture, resonating far beyond national borders. At the 2026 Year of the Horse Gala, the micro-musical “Every Beam of Light” drew widespread attention. In the performance, 30 WorldSkills Champions appeared one after another in their professional uniforms or award attire, bringing vocational skills that are used in production and everyday life onto the stage and presenting the style of a new generation of skilled youth to global audiences. Together, these young people embodied the core message of the song “Every Beam of Light”: “Be your own light and together illuminate the future.”

Starting from Shanghai: “Excellence” and “Inclusiveness” in a song

Inspired by the WorldSkills Competition to be held in Shanghai in 2026, the song “Every Beam of Light” was created as a tribute to the event and performed as a micro‑musical by WorldSkills Champions together with Chinese singers Wang Zhengliang, Wang Sulong, and Li Xian. Jointly produced by China Media Group and the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, the piece honors every ordinary individual who shines brightly in their own way.

“The temperament of Shanghai provides us with abundant inspiration for our creation,” said Bateer, the composer of “Every Beam of Light”. The city’s spirit of craftsmanship – its pursuit of excellence and its deep sense of inclusiveness – was woven into every detail of the performance. The delicate opening melody, paired with the “workstation” imagery on stage, highlighted the rigor and precision of skilled work. As the music unfolded, WorldSkills Champions joined artists on stage, with rich visual and musical elements that reflected Shanghai’s embrace of skilled talent from around the world.

Therefore, “Every Beam of Light” is not only a tribute to hardworking ordinary people, but also an invitation from Shanghai to the world. Bateer hopes that when skilled talents from around the globe gather in Shanghai, they will feel the power of “being seen, understood, and inspired” through this song. And this light originating in Shanghai will ultimately converge into a torch, illuminating every ordinary person who lives and works with dedication, as well as the future of a city that pursues excellence and embraces diversity.

Advanced Skills Meet Artistic Expression

The most touching moments of the performance came from the skill demonstrations presented by the WorldSkills Champions on stage. Jiang Yingcheng, the gold medalist in Car Painting at the 44th WorldSkills Competition, used a spray gun to recreate “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains”— one of China’s most renowned classical landscape paintings — on a car door, demonstrating the fusion of modern industrial tools with millennia-old Eastern aesthetics. Huang Bolin, the gold medalist in Carpentry at the 47th WorldSkills Competition, combined traditional mortise and tenon joints with contemporary design, creating a wooden artwork using wood veneer splicing, featuring elements such as the “Chengcheng” mascot pattern and the small-seal-script character for “horse”. Hu Ping, the gold medalist in Fashion Technology at the 44th WorldSkills Competition, quickly gathered fabric into flowers and embedded them into beautiful evening gowns. These magical and exquisite skill displays allowed the audience not only to appreciate the beauty of craftsmanship, but also to feel the festive spirit of the season.

For these top Competitors in their respective fields, performing on the Spring Festival Gala stage was a completely new challenge. Luo Zili, the gold medalist in Mechatronics at the 47th WorldSkills Competition, admitted with a smile, “I’m someone who spends all day with a poker face working on equipment. But on the Spring Festival Gala stage, I have to keep smiling and make the performance enjoyable for the audience. That’s the hardest part for me.”

Program Director Bi Bo explained that inviting “ordinary people” such as WorldSkills Competitors to perform was precisely because they could authentically present the real state of skilled workers through their demonstrations, and their personal stories resonated more deeply with the program’s core theme – “the brilliance of the ordinary.” “The contestants who won awards at the WorldSkills Competition are the ‘top performers’ in their respective fields. Each of them has their own journey. After our research and discussions, we found that every one of them could deliver five seconds of brilliance on the Spring Festival Gala stage. And when these moments of brilliance are connected, they form a vibrant and colorful picture,” Bi Bo said.

Ordinary and Radiant: The Best Era for Skill Development

“Every Beam of Light” has a verse that says, “Skills light the way to the future; every trade shines in its own brilliance. Unbound by convention, each talent is born to thrive. Stride into the world and rise to every challenge.”

“As long as you work hard, anyone can become a top achiever, no matter the profession,” Bi Bo said. What the production team hopes to convey is not “the brilliance of champions,” but rather “the brilliance of the ordinary.” As long as one remains committed to their career and continually refines their skills, every ordinary worker can become a “champion” in their own field. Therefore, inviting WorldSkills Competition winners to perform at the Gala was not only meant to show young people that skills can lead to a bright future, but also to share with global audiences the belief that “ordinary jobs can produce champions, and everyone has the potential to become a great national skill master.”

In September this year, the 48th WorldSkills Competition will be held in Shanghai. On February 2, the opening ceremony of the Competition Preparation Week 2026 was held in this city. Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, noted in her speech that China would release a declaration reflecting broad consensus and launch a series of WorldSkills‑related activities. These initiatives, she said, would become defining features of this year’s Competition and serve as an important step in advancing WorldSkills’ “Vision 2035” and promoting the continued development of the WorldSkills movement.

From the arena to the stage, “Every Beam of Light” shines on every ordinary person who builds a life through their skills. When the light of skills illuminates Shanghai in 2026, the world will see that skills are becoming a passport for young people to the future and that every individual who diligently hones their craft is one of the brightest lights of our time.