CCTV to shorten length of Spring Gala showcase
央视将缩短春晚表演时长
THE CCTV Spring Festival Gala 2014 will not exceed four hours, said the event’s general director Feng Xiaogang
春晚总导演冯小刚宣布：2014年春晚将不会超过4小时
The acclaimed director revealed that the team hoped to shorten the length of the annual showcase broadcasted live on the eve of Chinese New Year during an hour-long interview with netizens of Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
在中国的推特——新浪微博上同网友们进行了长达一小时的沟通后，导演开心的透露春晚团队希望缩短春晚每个节目直播的时长。
It was reported earlier that the galas hosted by CCTV and other regional stations during the Chinese New Year have taken steps to cut down on their expenses, following the introduction of the government efforts to tone down extravagance and waste to fight corruption.
早先就有报道提到央视和其它地方电视台为了响应政府减少奢侈浪费以反抗腐败的号召，已经采取措施减少他们在春晚上的开支。
The netizens expressed their concerns over the possible effect of a tighter controlled budget on the appearance of A-list celebrities, and Feng explained that the celebrities do not receive payment for their performances on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
网友们表达了他们对缩减邀请大牌明星预算的担心。冯小刚解释道，明星们参加春晚不收取任何费用。
With hundreds of millions of viewers, the gala, known as chunwan in Chinese is most famous for being the platform for celebrities and entertainers to reach out to the Chinese audience.
拥有数以百万计观众规模的春晚以为名人明星提供让中国观众认识他们的平台而著名。
The likes of Jackie Chan and Zhang Ziyi have made appearances on the previous showcases.
成龙和章子怡也曾在之前登台过。
Responding to the netizens’ queries, Feng stressed that his concern is to make the showcase fun, with the programmes designed to provide entertainment to the public.
冯小刚在回答网友的询问时强调娱乐大众，如何做到好玩是他最关心的问题。
Since 2014 is the Year of the Horse, he said the content will revolve around the pony.
由于2014年是马年，他提到节目内容会围绕马展开。
The programmes of the gala are usually secretly guarded. Responding to a question on programmes that will be appealing to young viewers, Feng said there will definitely be such content, but he cannot reveal the details now.
春晚的节目单通常被秘密保护着。在回答一个节目会否吸引年轻观众的问题时，冯小刚透露一定会有相关内同，但是他不能透露更多细节。
On the availability of new, creative content skewed towards the taste of those born after the 90s, Feng joked that the young people’s biggest entertainment come from criticising chunwan on social media.
在谈到春晚会否有新的、有创造性的内容适合90后年轻人喜好的可能性时，冯小刚开玩笑道，90后看春晚最大的乐趣是在公共平台上吐槽。
“If I had done a great job, I will deprive them of the fun from criticising the showcase,” he said.
“如果我把春晚弄得特别好看，那不是剥夺了他们吐槽的快感吗？”他说。