This year's festival, themed "Lighting up Young Minds, Shaping the Future," will run until Aug 17 and feature 185 performances of 42 outstanding theatrical works by 21 theater companies from home and abroad, according to the fest organizers.

In addition to the Chinese capital and the two eastern cities of Jiaxing and Changzhou, the 14-year-old festival will, for the first time, grace Yulin in Shaanxi province, bringing top children's theater to families in the western hinterland.