The annual conference of the Silk Road International League of Theatres (SRILT) was held in Quanzhou, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian Province, on Nov 22, 2019. The city was a major gateway of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The gathering drew representatives from 27 countries and regions. They shared resources with each other and voiced their willingness to deepen cooperation in the future.

In October 2016, China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd (CAEG) initiated and formed the SRILT in an effort to facilitate cultural and artistic exchanges and cooperation among countries and regions along the Silk Road.

Now, the SRILT boasts 124 members from 42 countries and regions. In addition, there are 77 overseas organizations in the international agency.

According to Li Jinsheng, president of the CAEG, the SRILT has aimed at becoming a platform to promote artistic exchanges and organize professional training for relevant practitioners.

The SRILT has successfully promoted 10 classical Chinese plays to audiences in the United States, France and Italy over the past year. Meanwhile, a dozen high-quality operas, made by overseas members in the league, have been added to its list of performances.

For instance, the Teatro Carlo Felice in the Italian city of Genoa became the first leg in the overseas circuit of a performance of Marco Polo.

Li added that the formation of the SRILT, along with the present resources of the CAEG, will build a bridge between the Chinese art and performance market and that of other countries, which helps not only bring more excellent foreign plays to China, but also export high-quality Chinese cultural products to the rest of the world.