The 33rd China TV Golden Eagle Awards and 16th China Golden Eagle TV Arts Festival will take place in Changsha, Hunan, from August 28 to 30, 2026, with final awards to be announced on August 30. Over 700 entries were submitted across multiple categories, and the event features expanded programming including a micro-short drama honor unit.
The 33rd China TV Golden Eagle Awards, launched in March 2026, received 719 entries across four categories: 203 TV dramas, 249 documentaries, 182 variety programs, and 85 animated works. After two rounds of audience voting and expert reviews, 36 dramas, 16 documentaries, 8 variety shows, and 8 animated series were nominated. The awards ceremony will be held on August 30 in Changsha, with winners in categories like Best Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor.
Notable nominees include Life Tree with seven nominations, featuring Hu Ge and Yang Zi as leading actors. Other top contenders are Silent Glory, The Small Street Family, and My Alate. The selection process uses a 40% audience vote, 30% China TV Artists Association membership, and 30% expert review, a shift from previous years that eliminated the Golden Eagle Goddess and popularity awards.
The 16th China Golden Eagle TV Arts Festival will host nine events, up from five in previous years. Key activities include an opening ceremony, main and parallel forums, the nomination ceremony, artist city walks, a micro-short drama honor unit, and a closing ceremony. Changsha’s public spaces will feature festival videos, and artists will engage in city-based creative projects to enhance the event’s cultural impact.
The festival’s scale reflects a focus on integrating TV arts with local culture. Jingying Guangming yu Xingcheng Changsha jiaoxianghuizheng (Golden Eagle brilliance and the star city of Changsha complement each other) is a key theme, with Changsha’s landmarks serving as backdrops for artistic collaborations. The event also includes a paper award ceremony and discussions on the future of TV dramas in the digital age.
The expanded format and new categories like micro-short dramas signal a push to modernize the awards. By emphasizing professional review and reducing popularity-based awards, the event aims to strengthen its credibility. However, questions remain about how the 40-30-30 voting system will balance public and expert opinions.
The 2026 festival’s emphasis on technology and urban collaboration may set a precedent for future events. With Changsha’s involvement, the arts festival could become a model for city-venue integration, though its long-term impact depends on sustained industry engagement and audience reception.
The 33rd China TV Golden Eagle Awards were announced during a press conference held on August 25, 2026, at the China Cultural Artists House in Beijing. Attendees included China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Deputy Secretary-General Xie Li, China TV Artists Association Secretary-General Yan Shaofei, Hunan Television Deputy Director Song Dian, and other officials. The event was attended by 60 media representatives, including central and local outlets.
The 33rd China TV Golden Eagle Awards received 719 entries from 41 local and 9 central units. Categories included 203 TV dramas, 249 documentaries, 182 variety programs, and 85 animated works. The selection process involved two rounds of audience voting, with China TV Artists Association members and council members participating, followed by evaluations by preliminary and final judging panels.
The 36 nominated TV dramas include Shangganling, The Small Street Family, Like a Flowing River, Blossoms on the Cliff, Ordinary Song, Years of Peace, City of Sunshine, Six Sisters, In the Name of the Law, Northward, Returning to the Team, All Things Grow, Life Tree, The Border Town, Old Uncle, Drug Busters, Northwest Years, Joy of Life (Season 2), Frontline, Good Times, Heading to the Southwest, Our Rivers and Mountains, My Alate, I Am a Detective, Silent Glory, The Tale of Rose, Grass of Happiness, National Essence and Splendid Huazhao, Station Resident, Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II: To the West, Hawks of the Sea and Sky, Bloody Glory, Family Court, The Chess Player, A Wonderful Life, and Hidden Sea.
Among the nominated directors are Li Xue for Life Tree, Yang Yaxing for Silent Glory, Yang Lei and Lu Beike for Years of Peace, Chen Li for Bloody Glory, Fei Zhenxiang for Blossoms on the Cliff, and Teng Congcong for My Alate. Leading actors include Yu Hewei for Silent Glory, Wang Renjun for Bloody Glory, Wang Baichao for The Chess Player, Wang Xiao for Ordinary Song, Hu Ge for Life Tree, and Guo Jingfei for Old Uncle.
Leading actresses include Ma Yili for My Alate, Ren Zimou (Ren Zuxi) for The Endless End, Yan Ni for The Small Street Family, Yang Zi for Life Tree, Wu Yue for Silent Glory, and Song Jia for Blossoms on the Cliff. Male supporting actors include Wang Jinsong for Frontline, Zhu Yawen for Years of Peace, Li Guangjie for Life Tree, Lin Yongjian for All Things Grow, Jiang Qiming for The Border Town, and Fu Dalong for I Am a Detective.
Female supporting actors include Ma Su for I Am a Detective, Lan Xiyah for Blossoms on the Cliff, Chi Peng for All Things Grow, Qin Haiyu for All Things Grow, Mei Ting for Life Tree, and Jiang Xin for The Small Street Family. Nominated variety programs include 2024 China Radio and Television Excellence Gala, 2025 Bilibili New Year’s Eve Gala, 2026 Liaoning Spring Festival Gala, China’s 24 Solar Terms Series Programs, Wenyao China, China in Intangible Cultural Heritage, Boiling Snow Us, and Yue Opera China Year — 2026 Yue Opera Spring Festival Gala.
TV hosts include Wang Xiaolong for Little Scholars of Chinese Studies (Season 8) Chinese Family Poetry Competition, Long Yang for China in Intangible Cultural Heritage, Li Yangwei for 2024 China Radio and Television Excellence Gala, Zhang Ming for 2026 Liaoning Spring Festival Gala, Dilidaer Xiehe Re Ti for Beautiful Xinjiang Gala Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Hu Qiaohua (Hua Shao) for Yue Opera China Year — 2026 Yue Opera Spring Festival Gala.
Nominated documentaries include Millennium Huizhou, Zuo Zongtang Recaptures Xinjiang, The Potala Palace: Decoding Space-Time, White Ox, A Century of Ambassadors’ Guardianship, Finding Iris Chang, China in Villages, We Chinese, Lu You’s Rural World, It’s Bad Mood, That’s Okay, Forefront of Victory, Zhujiang Moon Landing: In Progress, Guling Letters, and Panda Adventures (Season 1).
Nominated animated works include Little Guardian of Arts (Season 1), Chinese Folk Tales 2, Ningde Sea and Mountain Encounters: Blue Pasture, My Nezha and Transformers (Part 1), A Record of Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (Season 2), The Forbidden City: Imperial Cat House, Big Head Son and Little Head Dad: Take You to See China (Season 1), and Boonie Bears: Magic Treasure.
The 33rd Golden Eagle Awards ceremony will be held on August 30 at 19:30 in Changsha, with live broadcasts on Hunan TV and Mango TV. The festival runs from August 28 to 30, with the awards ceremony as the final event. The expanded program includes nine activities, such as the opening ceremony, main and parallel forums, the nomination ceremony, artist city walks, the micro-short drama honor unit, and a paper award ceremony discussing the future of TV dramas in the digital age.
Changsha’s public spaces will feature festival videos, and artists will participate in city-based creative projects to enhance the event’s cultural impact. The festival’s theme emphasizes the integration of TV arts with local culture, with Changsha’s landmarks serving as backdrops for artistic collaborations. The event also includes a paper award ceremony and discussions on the future of TV dramas in the digital age.
