The UK's National Theatre will stage the drama The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Center from May 24 to 27. [Photo provided to Chinaculture.org]

The Belt and Road: art without borders

Since 2018 marks the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, this year's Meet in Beijing is aimed at further promoting cultural exchanges between countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

In addition to a number of Italian arts, many other foreign shows will also grace stages in Beijing's major theaters, such as Polish mime Seriously Funny, French circus Opus 7, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by the UK's National Theatre and puppet show János Háry Puppet Play by Budapest Puppet Theatre.

As part of the Chinese shows, the dance drama Confucius will close the festival May 31. Confucius is an ancient Chinese philosopher who founded Confucianism more than 2,000 years ago, a philosophy with far-reaching influence on Chinese people. The 90-minute dance show will tell the story of the legendary scholar's journey through the kingdoms of the various Zhou dynasties (BC 1046-256) and his quest to instill codes of ethics, honor and benevolence among the empire's rulers.

From May 4 to 5, the classical folk dance show Silk Road, hailed by many as "Swan Lake of the East", will be staged anew after a tour of more than 2,800 performances over the past 38 years.