A troupe of 30 Chinese and American dancers present a theater production about the life of Pearl S. Buck. The dance drama will kick off its China tour next year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

He also says that working with a creative team which is half Asian and half Western, was a challenge.

"With the cross-cultural society we live in today, I started psychologically to understand the cultural differences," he says.

Tang also traveled with Ezralow to Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, where Buck lived and spent most of her life before 1934.

This is the first collaboration between Tang and Ezralow, who both agreed that this show tells Buck's story not from a Chinese angle, but from an international perspective.

"Ultimately, we wanted to produce a show, which could help an international audience discover China more," says Tang.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn