‍‍The Wuzhen Theater Festival has begun in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. Organizers said they aim to elevate the annual event alongside the likes of the well-established Avignon or Edinburgh festivals and build a reputation whereby theater aficionados keep coming back for their fix of art and cultural exchanges.

In the sixth year, the Wuzhen Theater Festival returns with creative and daring shows in one of China's most beautiful settings, while a one-thousand-year-old water town that celebrates both the modern and traditional arts.

Running under the theme of "magnanimity," organizers said this year's event is jam-packed with surprises.

"I think the charm of this festival is that you have a lot of highlights, and you also have very interesting experiments," said Huang Lei, actor and co-founder of the event shared with CGTN. 

"This year, for the first time, we'll be welcoming artists from Africa for some unusual performances. And some from Mexico in South America. So you'll get to see all these performances in one place, and all within walking distance of each other," Huang added.

Looking back, the festival started from what Huang called a daydream with the help of playwright Stan Lai, experimental theater pioneer Meng Jinghui and entrepreneur Chen Xianghong.

Today it has become one of the most influential theater events in China, and perhaps the most distinctive one.

"The unique thing about the Wuzhen theater festival is that we are not assigned to the festival, there's no concrete contract. We are just a group of artists who gather here every year to present something interesting and inspiring for the public. It's out of our hearts, pure and simple, no business interests attached to it," Huang indicated.

The 10-day event will also feature a "young theater artists competition," an outdoor carnival and various theater forums where attendees could talk to and learn from theater masters, and the festival runs till October 28.