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Young performers put on street shows during the Wuzhen Theater Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

The Eighth Wuzhen Theater Festival will be delayed until 2021, according to a statement released by the organizing committee of the festival on July 8.

The statement says that in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak and the risk of infection, the organizing committee of the Wuzhen Theater Festival has decided to hold the Eighth Wuzhen Theater Festival in 2021.

The annual international festival has gradually become a symbol of Wuzhen, a traditional water town in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province. The town has a history that traces back 7,000 years.

The brainchild of Chinese actor-director Huang Lei, leading Taiwan theater director Stan Lai, and prioneering theater director Meng Jinghui, the Wuzhen Theater Festival was launched in 2013.

Looking to display international theatrical works and offer young talent a platform upon which to start their careers, the festival has attracted more than 220,000 people and shown 146 operas, turning the small town into a popular tourist destination.

Audiences can not only enjoy shows indoors, but there is also a daily fair where hundreds of artists perform on the streets of Wuzhen.

A Kunqu Opera performance is staged on a boat on the river running through Wuzhen during the Wuzhen Theater Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

Wuzhen is busy during the Wuzhen Theater Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

Wuzhen shines under the night sky during the Wuzhen Theater Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]