Next, we head to the Wuzhen Theater Festival in China's Zhejiang Province, as it celebrates its tenth edition. Known for taking place at the beautiful water scenery that has been around since ancient times, the cultural venue serves as a gathering place for artists, performers and the like. At this event that's brimmed with energy, co-founder and director Stan Lai says in an interview that he is proud to call it, "the most important festival of its kind" in Asia. He also adds that it's an engine for creativity, inviting all artists, including emerging ones to take part.

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? The whole energy of the place, particularly post pandemic, we have really come a long way. And 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 "At the beginning, no one knew what was the theater festival was, and now when we approach the biggest groups or they approach us. The most famous groups in the world, now they are approaching us, wondering when they can come. Some of our friends from overseas are second timers, liked Aaliyah last night. They had been here in 2015. I was speaking with the managing director. He just grabbed me and he said, this is so great and it has to continue and I said it will. Don't worry. He said, it's so important! Really, we've put ourselves on the map. People call us 'the most important festival in Asia,' I believe that. 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. How could you see anything more beautiful in the world than Robert Wilson's show. We're arising. We're back. Basically, that's what it means. My great ambition is that it's not just bringing in the great groups, but also tourists, audiences from abroad. We need to see Wuzhen during the festival filled with all sorts of foreigners who are enjoying the incredible experience of the festival. 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. 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 for creativity because of the emerging artists competition. And already from that competition, many people have become very prominent professionals, creative and they've performed in festivals, other festivals around the world. 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 plays, 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."