The Wuzhen Theatre Festival was inaugurated just eight years ago, making it a relatively recent appendage to this historic town that dates back 1,300 years. Nonetheless, Wuzhen's cultural identity has already become imbued with a love of theater.

What Wuzhen's winding streets and water lanes offered were decidedly different from the medieval ramparts and Gothic architecture seen in the southeastern French city of Avignon, which has now hosted 75 editions of its annual theater festival. Young and energetic, the Wuzhen Theatre Festival picked up steam after taking a hiatus last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, all of the actors who appeared were based in China.

CGTN interviewed Yang Duanchen, who has been in charge of the festival's Outdoor Carnival since its fifth year. He explained the concept behind the site arrangements.

"On the main streets, we usually focus on installation art and parades that have a strong visual impact. Shows that deal more with story-telling are placed on piers and small plazas that can really pack a crowd," Yang said.

One of the standout performances at this year's parade was by Mass Troupe, a group that specializes in exploring the use of public spaces. Dubbed "The White Cattle," their show was loosely based on a Chinese folk legend about praying for rain.

Galvanized by the enthusiastic audiences, the actors have described the ancient town as a perfect setting for the play. 

"The stone slabs that line the streets are a great visual or 'textual' representation of the play, which is the feeling of being deeply rooted in and connected to the earth," said one of the performers.

The troupe expressed their evergreen affection for Wuzhen. "For us dramatists, returning here is like coming home. It offers an inclusive and 'unbridled' space for actors to communicate," said one of the members. "We like to describe this experience as though we were weaving a dreamscape about love and light in an ancient town."

Ever-vibrant and still in its formative years, the Wuzhen Theatre Festival has successfully integrated with every nook and cranny of this water town, offering dramatists a utopian stage that stretches far beyond the dimensions of the theater houses.