Doubao AI Powers Record-Breaking Spring Festival Gala Interactions
How AI Redefined China's Biggest TV Night
The annual Spring Festival Gala has always been about tradition, but this year's edition made history with a decidedly modern twist. Powered by Doubao AI technology, the 2026 gala shattered records with 1.9 billion real-time interactions - equivalent to nearly every Chinese citizen participating at least once.
When Technology Meets Tradition
As families gathered across China on Lunar New Year's Eve, artificial intelligence quietly became the evening's unseen star. The "Toutiao New Year" features proved particularly popular:
- Over 50 million AI-generated festive profile pictures created
- More than 100 million personalized New Year greetings shared
- Traditional horse motifs reimagined through algorithmic artistry
The numbers tell only part of the story. At precisely 9:46 PM, as hosts announced interactive segments, ByteDance's systems processed 63.3 billion reasoning tokens per minute - a new benchmark demonstrating China's technological prowess.
Behind the Digital Curtain
Making this seamless experience possible required:
- Huoshan Engine's flexible cloud computing architecture
- Real-time optimization balancing millions of concurrent requests
- Fail-safe redundancy systems invisible to viewers at home
The technical achievement becomes even more impressive considering most families were simultaneously:
- Streaming HD video
- Participating in augmented reality activities
- Sharing content across social platforms
When Algorithms Take Center Stage
The true magic emerged when AI stepped beyond infrastructure into creative realms:
Riding the Wind Song Program:
- Digitally recreated priceless ink painting techniques
- Brought galloping horses to life with cinematic fluidity ### Celebrating the Flower Goddess:
- Generated unique visual environments for each performer
- Created "one scene per person" dynamic backdrops
The production blended physical staging with AI-generated extensions so seamlessly that many viewers couldn't distinguish where reality ended and algorithms began.
Key Points:
- Record engagement: 1.9 billion AI interactions during single broadcast
- Technical milestone: Processed 63.3 billion tokens/minute at peak
- Creative breakthrough: Merged traditional art forms with generative AI
- Cultural impact: Made cutting-edge technology accessible to all generations
