Now let's shine the spotlight on one of the festival's driving forces, Chen Xianghong, President of Wuzhen Tourism and a festival co-founder. Let's hear from the man behind the magic himself. 

WANG SIWEN Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province "Artist Chen Danqing summarized you as an officer, describing you as smart, capable, skilled in dealing with people, a profit-oriented boss, and an idealistic scholar with ambition. What do you think about this comment?"

CHEN XIANGHONG President of Wuzhen Tourism, Co-Founder & Chairman of Wuzhen Theatre Festival "In fact, I don't have that distinctive label like Danqing said. As a native here, I prepared everything from scratch for Wuzhen since 1999. Everything my team and I did will hopefully turn our hometown into an extraordinary place. I think requirements are different for each stage. When we first started, we hoped that more people would know about Wuzhen, more tourist groups come here, which is the so-called tourism stage. Then, we built Xizha, we called ourselves resort town. We hope that more people can stay overnight and hold meetings in Wuzhen, and understand Wuzhen's history. Then, we found that, China's ancient towns are booming, but there's unavoidable phenomenon, homogenization which is becoming more and more severe. Red lanterns are hung everywhere. There is nothing wrong with red lanterns, but that have covered the characteristics of each town. I believe every town has its own uniqueness. Therefore, we position Wuzhen as a cultural town, which is our highest requirement, we want more youngsters get to know this place, rely on the power of culture to maintain the connection between Wuzhen and the outside world." 

WANG SIWEN Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province "You previously mentioned Wuzhen's tourism development strategy as a 'long-term strategy' and emphasized the goal to build 'small town power.' Can you elaborate more on these?"

CHEN XIANGHONG President of Wuzhen Tourism, Co-Founder & Chairman of Wuzhen Theatre Festival "It takes 10 years to grind a sword, the festival was not like this at the beginning. For the next ten years, we will have higher requirements for ourselves. We are not in a rush, it's like laying down a layer of soil, and another layer, until it accumulates. It is really important, we aren't eager for quick success, we think about achieving the goal every day. We have to be very down-to-earth." 

WANG SIWEN Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province "Hailing from Tongxiang village and having served as the secretary here, you've created over 3,000 drawings depicting houses, villages, trails, rivers, and bridges in Wuzhen. Are you intimately acquainted with every aspect of Wuzhen? Could you recommend one of the most artistically captivating places in Wuzhen?"

CHEN XIANGHONG President of Wuzhen Tourism, Co-Founder & Chairman of Wuzhen Theatre Festival "I am from Wuzhen, and my mother still lives on this old street. Of course, I am familiar with Wuzhen. If you take a photo anywhere, I will know where you took it. I think every part of Wuzhen is beautiful. Many people ask me, what is the best way to appreciate it? I just tell them to stay here and live for a while. You will find more beauty besides scenery." 

WANG SIWEN Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province "Wuzhen Theater Festival has been running for ten years. How did this city initially become associated with drama, and what role has theater played in promoting tourism and cultural industries in the city?"

CHEN XIANGHONG President of Wuzhen Tourism, Co-Founder & Chairman of Wuzhen Theatre Festival "I am very glad that I chose Theater Festival as important aspect of Wuzhen culture. We did not follow the trend. As I talk to you now, I saw the small bridge and flowing water, and then I saw actors and actresses walking by, and young theatre lovers performing on the streets. The river is still the river. If I had done something else, the city wouldn't have become what it is today. After 10 years, Wuzhen has become young, the festival is the highlight of the town. If it is held for another 10 years, 20 years later, or even 100 years later, Wuzhen will have the brand of Centennial Theater Festival, and other cities won't. I think that's a big difference." 

WANG SIWEN Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province "Wuzhen is not just an ancient town; it's also famous for hosting the Theater Festival and the Wuzhen Internet Conference. What does the future development strategy of Wuzhen entail, and what is your vision of an ideal water town for Wuzhen?"

CHEN XIANGHONG President of Wuzhen Tourism, Co-Founder & Chairman of Wuzhen Theatre Festival "I say it in a vulgar way, the more you do, the more you are afraid, the more cautious you become. When Wuzhen started to develop at the beginning, we made decisions very quickly, but today, we are very cautious. Wuzhen is like a magical place. You have to be careful what you put in and what you take away. I think future protection and development is to develop through reuse. Now we have the Mao Dun Literary Award presentation, contemporary art exhibitions, art galleries, and we are also preparing for literature weeks and poetry festivals. Every time I get off work, inside the internet high-tech industry, I have a strange feeling, on one side is tradition, the other side is modern, one side is humanities, the other side is technology, one side is sensibility, the other side is rationality. That combination makes one of the most beautiful towns in China, which is full of vitality."