From drunken reverie to stagecraft on water

"For me, it's like a dream come true," says Huang, adding that one of his favorite places in Wuzhen is a basketball court near where he lives during the festival every year.

"Every year, I stay in this small town, which separates me from my busy life in Beijing. It's like a spiritual therapy. In the morning I play basketball, and after lunch I go and watch a theater or street play. Wuzhen is becoming better known not just as a tourist attraction but because people are being drawn here to watch plays when the festival is on."

In addition to other duties in Wuzhen, Huang is director of the festival's Young Theater Artist's Competition, which aims to uncover young theater talent and spur interest in theater among young people.

There are 18 finalists in this year's competition, selected from hundreds of applications that were taken from May.

After graduating with a master's degree of acting from the Beijing Film Academy in 1997, Huang taught there until early this year.

"As a teacher I love to see young people perform on stage, and working with the competition during the festival has been really encouraging. It's here that young directors are born."