Stage photo from Sailing the Silk Road. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Behind the success of Sailing the Silk Road, team work plays a vital role throughout the whole process.

“In the initial stage of producing the program, I think it was a tough challenge for me, as performers come from countries including Lebanon, China, India, Iran and Italy,” Caracalla said. “However, I have realized art itself is a magical language. Performers may have different cultural backgrounds, but they can reach a consensus through art.”

Cultural cooperation is important for building better relationships between countries, Caracalla said, and pointed to a major Chinese project as a positive development in that area.

“China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 and I truly support the initiative,” he said. “In my opinion, it is more than the promotion of political and business cooperation, but means much in the field of cultural and people-to-people exchanges.”

Those exchanges don’t just cross national borders — they traverse time itself, Caracalla said.

“Sailing the Silk Road wants to convey the idea that artists have been the guardians of humanity and preservers of dreams, translating our identities through their creations and transporting it from one century to another, defining our human values from one era to another,” he added.