An ecological chain

"The world's cultures sustain one another. We are like an ecological chain that requires the nourishment of diverse cultures to maintain balance," says Li Ting, an initiator and executive director of the festival. She hopes Daliangshan can serve as a platform for intercultural dialogue. "It's not about what we learn from others, but about understanding what people elsewhere are thinking and doing. Others benefit from being here, too."

Li spent her teenage years in Xichang, and returns to Daliangshan to live for six months each year to run the festival. She believes the mountainous highland culture of the Yi ethnic group, which is diverse, open, and inclusive, is a natural foundation for such a gathering.

Now 67 and an award-winning playwright, Li says: "I love theater too much to stop." This year's opening production, Diary of a Madman, was inspired by a performance she saw in Georgia and brought back to Daliangshan.

One original Chinese production, Intimacy, left a deep impression on her. The play explores the intimate relationships of today's younger generation. She was pleased to see young creators expressing curiosity, questioning life, and harboring hopes. "If I went back 40 years, I was just as confused and often frustrated by roles I couldn't perform to my satisfaction," she recalls.

In the play's final scene, the young characters appear aged, seemingly free from emotional entanglements, playing guitar and singing together. Many of the young audience members were moved to tears. Li, however, smiled, knowing from experience that life will unfold in far more complicated ways than they imagine.

"As the festival's director, I'm very satisfied. Theater should express one's true self, not follow trends," she says.