Inevitably Huang, 48, who rose to fame by playing the leading role in the 1990 film Life on a String, directed by Chen Kaige, began seriously to talk with theater directors and scriptwriters, including Stan Lai and Meng Jinghui, about a theater festival in the water town. Eventually the first Wuzhen Theater Festival was staged, in 2013, with Lai's eight-hour epic A Dream Like a Dream acting as the curtain-raiser.

Eight indoor venues have been built since then, each within walking distance from one another and all exuding the attractiveness of the old water town. There are also outdoor public spaces designed for performance. Forums, workshops and street performances also give the town a carnival atmosphere during the festival.

The festival's seventh edition will be held from Oct 25 to Nov 3, with more than 140 performances by theater companies from 13 countries, including Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece and Japan.

The festival's slogan ru huan ru xi Wuzhen(Beyond the real, all Wuzhen's a stage) conveys its aspirations to create "dreamy and surreal experiences". The aim is to present to the public international theatrical works and to offer young talent a platform from which to start their careers.