The tenth Wuzhen Theater Festival is now underway in China's ancient water town in Zhejiang Province. In an interview with our reporter Wang Xiying, co-founder and director Stan Lai says the past decade has seen ups and downs. But he says he's proud of what is called the most important festival of its kind in Asia.

WANG XIYING CGTN Reporter "Director, thank you for joining us today. Let's talk a little bit about the 10th anniversary of the festival. So how do you think it has grown over the past decade? What does it mean to you?"

STAN LAI Director "I was quite emotional because none of us could see to the 10th year. You know, we were saying, can we survive to the second year? We have really come a long way. We have accomplished pretty much the impossible."

WANG XIYING CGTN Reporter "Performances from over 11 countries are coming to join us, what opportunities are they seeking for?"

STAN LAI Director "People call us 'the most important festival in Asia.' We have become such an important window for the world to see China. And now that the international groups can come back again, they're seeing China in a very special way and saying, wow, this is incredible."

WANG XIYING CGTN Reporter "The theme of this year's festival is 'Arise.' What does it signify and what can we expect for it?"

STAN LAI Director "To me particularly, it means a new start. The top groups are back. We're arising. We're back. Basically, that's what it means. As Robert Wilson said on stage last night, he said, art, theater, these are the real things that unite people together. It doesn't matter what color of your skin is or what religion you are, you know. These are the things that bring us together and at this time the world is in a very strange situation. We need theatre."

WANG XIYING CGTN Reporter "To be on a bigger stage, like international stage, what's our strength and weakness?"

STAN LAI Director "Well, in terms of the Wuzhen Theater Festival, I think we have become sort of an engine. To us, it's not just about putting on, you know, the very famous directors' works. It's about creating the very famous directors of the future, too. It seems like as the internet broadband gets broader, it seems like our lives get more and more narrow. You know, because we're just looking at this little thing and then when people come into the theatre and they find the magic of the theatre and the magic of really being with live cast of performers in the same room with you. That's something that really can't be replicated. The reason why I started writing plays, you know, almost forty years ago, it's because I didn't want to copy Gibson, you know, or Chekhov, even though I admire them and Shakespeare. But that's all I had in the day. And so where are our own place, that are reflecting our own times and that's why the emerging artists festival is so important. And that is why I keep saying that China, sure you can go ahead and adapt and translate works as much as you like. We need that too. But at least you've got to have as many new plays and new relevant plays. Well done. And I think then China's theatre arts will start to rock it."