A global village where the world's a stage

A small settlement in Jiangxi province that's the ancestral home of big-name theater director Stan Lai is raising a curtain on its performing arts, Cheng Yuezhu and Tang Ying report.

On Jan 5, Huichang county in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, hosted an unprecedented scene when over 200,000 visitors celebrated the Huichang Theater Village's opening, including theater practitioners, performing arts groups, experts and tourists.

Contemporary performing arts and traditional Chinese celebrations took place throughout the theater village, from an opening ceremony held at the Lai Family Mansion Plaza in front of the former residence of renowned theater director Stan Lai's family, to an outdoor performance by Taiwan-based performing arts group U-Theatre around an ancient banyan tree at the village's entrance.

When dusk descended, Lai's classic play The Village was staged at Theater Converge, one of four major theater venues inside the village, marking the 100th performance of the play's special edition.