General Planner, Designer and President of Wuzhen Scenic District and Beijing WTown. Chairman of the Culture Wuzhen Co. Ltd., President of Wuzhen Tourism Co. Ltd. Chen was born in Wuzhen and started the Wuzhen construction protection and development plan from its very inception in 1999. Known for his desire to preserve and protect Wuzhen, Mr. Chen was the lead designer and organizer of the plan to preserve the historical value of Wuzhen. His idea of preserving the streets, canals and architecture of the original city was the driving force behind his desire not only to turn Wuzhen into a wonderful tourist destination, but also to protect its historical value. For his work, Mr. Chen was given the Award of Distinction from the Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2003. His vision of the new Wuzhen has attracted the attention of Chinese and international artists with the Wuzhen Theatre Festival.

In 2013, Chen Xianghong co-founded Wuzhen Theatre Festival with Huang Lei, Stan Lai and Meng Jinghui.

The phenomenon of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival has attracted attention from outstanding local and international artists, and added new vitality to the thousand-year old culture of the town, making Wuzhen a new “hotspot” of culture and arts. More recently, Chen Xianghong has also promoted and supported the founding of the Muxin Art Museum, and the hosting of both the Wuzhen International Contemporary Art Exhibition and Wuzhen International Project, “A Future in the Visual Arts.” These successful events have embodied the extraordinary contributions made by Chen Xianghong to the cultural development of Wuzhen.

Huang Lei is one of the most prominent actors in China, in theatre, television and film. He is also a screenwriter, theatre producer, and a TV & film director and producer. Hang Lei has been teaching at the Beijing Film Academy for 22 years. During his many years of teaching, and with his sound knowledge of literature and artistic practices, Huang Lei has creatively formulated his diversified methods of training actors, nurturing much outstanding young talent for the TV and film industries.

Huang Lei’s acting is popular with audiences and acclaimed by critics. His theatre credits include Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land and The Yellow Storm; TV and film credits include April Rhapsody, A Love for Separation, A Little Reunion, Hey Daddy!, Honey Bee Man, Between Husband and Wife, Guys Clan, When Tangerines Turn Red, Life on A String. He has also written and directed many works for television and film, especially the TV series Lost Time, which he wrote, directed and acted in, and which was shot in Wuzhen in 2003 and won him great popularity and warm appreciation all over China, while at the same time introducing the timeless beauty of Wuzhen to the public.

In 2013, Huang Lei co-founded Wuzhen Theatre Festival with Chen Xianghong, Stan Lai and Meng Jinghui.

He is also part of the jury for this year’s Festival.

Stan Lai is "the best Chinese language playwright and director in the world" (BBC); "Asia's top theatre director" (Asia week); and “Asia’s flagship playwright” (China Daily). Beginning in Taiwan,China in the 1980s, Lai’s plays have greatly influenced theatre in the Chinese speaking world, including his most famous play, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, which was performed in English at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015. His The Village has been described by Beijing News as "the pinnacle of our era of theatre." His epic 8-hour A Dream Like A Dream (2000), has been called by China Daily "possibly the greatest Chinese-language play since time immemorial." One One Zero Eight is Lai's 39th original work as playwright and director, and his 4th offering at Wuzhen Theatre Festival.

Lai is Artistic Director of Performance Workshop, Taiwan,China; Theatre Above, Shanghai; and Co-founder and Festival Director of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, China.

Meng Jinghui is the most influential stage director in contemporary Chinese theater.

His productions have transformed the theater scene in China with their sharp wit and social critique. Their diversity and creativity have become a cultural phenomenon, with more than 40 works staged since the 1990s, all eliciting strong reactions.

His most popular productions are Rhinoceros in Love and Two Dogs’ Opinions on Life, each performed more than 2,500 times. Other well known works include Amber, Soft, Head Without Tail, I Love XXX, the rock musical The Hanging Garden Murder Case, and his original immersive theater piece Deadwater Mermaid. His radical adaptations of world classics include The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The Good Person of Sichuan, and The Bedbug.

Meng’s works have been performed at several international festivals and have toured in countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, and Japan.

He is dedicated to fostering a thriving environment for the development of new theater and young artists. In recent years, he has founded and served as the artistic director of several major Chinese and international theater festivals such as the Beijing International Youth Theatre Festival, Wuzhen Theatre Festival, Hangzhou International Theatre Festival, and Contemporary Drama Biennale. Meng is the author of three books in Chinese—Avant-garde Theater Archive and New Avant-Garde Theater Archives—and one book in English: I Love XXX and Other Plays (edited by Claire Conceison).

Nai-chu Ding is one of the most prominent theatre producers in the Chinese-speaking world. Starting from work with her theatre group Performance Workshop in Taiwan in the 1980s, she has produced over 60 theatre plays, including most of the work of her husband, Director Stan Lai. Among her credits are iconic classics that have altered the landscape of theatre in the Chinese speaking world, such as Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, A Dream Like A Dream, The Village, Just Play It, and Millennium Teahouse. She performed in Stan Lai's early work, Plucking Stars and Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land (1986), originating the iconic character of Yuin. Nai-chu Ding has also produced three films, The Peach Blossom Land, The Red Lotus Society, and Finding Shangri-La, which have received numerous awards at international festivals. She has produced large scale events, including the 2009 Deaflympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies. She is currently the Managing Director of Performance Workshop Theatre, and the CEO of Theater Above, Shanghai.

General Manager of the Cultural Wuzhen Co. Ltd., Vice-President of Wuzhen Tourism Co. Ltd, Executive President of Beijing Wtown Ltd. Chen has nearly 20 years of significant experience in such fields as tourist location management and program operations, and she makes crucial contributions to bringing influential cultural and art events to Wuzhen, and then to plant them in the soil here.

As the Managing Director of Wuzhen Theatre Festival, Chen has always held to the idea of “making the theatre a common part of life.” This idea helps to successfully attract people from various fields and all walks of life to learn about and participate in the Festival, as well as to promote the theatre arts nationwide. Following the Festival, arts events such as the Wuzhen International Contemporary Art Exhibition and A Future in the Visual Arts, coordinated and implemented by Chen, have been held at Wuzhen, making culture and art a new link between Wuzhen and the public.