MACAO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The opening ceremony of the 5th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Chinese Theater Cultural Festival was held on Friday in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

Running through May, the festival coordinated events in Macao, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, featuring 12 productions in genres such as drama, musicals, and operas.

In her speech at the opening ceremony, Leong Wai Man, president of the Macao SAR government's Cultural Affairs Bureau, expressed the hope that this event will deepen cultural exchanges and attract more high-quality cultural exchange projects to Macao, allowing Chinese traditional culture to thrive and be further promoted through Macao as a window.

As a main venue, Macao will present a "cultural interpretation" theme and showcase the distinctive features of international artistic collaboration, according to the organizers.

Four plays were performed in Macao since Wednesday, including the Chinese-French co-created "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," "The Contrabass" by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, the musical "The Cat God in the Forbidden City" which is co-produced by the China National Theatre for Children and the Palace Museum, and "The Bridge Theory" by a local theater association.

Ikhsan Tahir, who played Captain Nemo in "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," told Xinhua that as a contemporary Chinese localization of the world-renowned science fiction classic, their play included many Chinese elements during the creative process by both the French and Chinese teams.

"I believe this is a valuable creative practice where cultural integration and mutual learning occur, and in this process, sparks of inspiration and creativity are generated," he added.

This festival edition was the first to introduce Hong Kong and Macao productions. Gary Ng Ka-wai, assistant director of "The Bridge Theory," told Xinhua that he was very happy to be on the festival stage, allowing the audience to experience local culture and draw attention to the development of theaters in Macao.

"The stage design was special and impressive," Macao resident Ms. Cheong said after watching "The Contrabass" on Thursday. As a theater fan, she said that it's an excellent opportunity to have a monodrama at home.

The festival was organized by the China Theater Association, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR government, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority of Hong Kong SAR, and the Guangdong Federation of Literary and Art Circles. ■