Chinese artists attend the 2016 Edinburgh Festival

The marching band parade at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 5. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 2016 Edinburgh Festival is being held through to August 29, during which Chinese dramas featuring Tang Xianzu and William Shakespeare's works will be performed, to mark the 400th year of the two great playwrights' deaths.

The festival is also part of bilateral commemorations for the two literature giants, advocated by Chinese President Xi Jinping. It is also a crucial link for China to promote cultural exchanges and the Belt & Road Initiative.

A number of art troupes from China will perform at the festival. Hunan Kunqu Opera Troupe's Romeo and Juliet, Jiangxi Opera Troupe's Four Dreams at Linchuan, Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe's The Peony Pavilion, Shanghai Theatre Academy's Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream & Nanke Dream co-produced by University of International Business and Economics in China and University of Leeds will be performed, just to name a few.