A "Culture City of East Asia" media art event was held in Daegu, South Korea between October 14 and 19. Representatives from three member cities—Changsha, Daegu, and Kyoto—gathered together, exploring the connections between peace and creativity through cultural and art exchanges. 

 
Chinese avant-garde director Li Yan attended the event with "The Dongting Lake Dreamland: Liu Husheng and the Milu Deer Theater" directed by him. This work utilized new media art techniques developed by Liu's team, inviting the audience on a journey to the distant Dongting Lake to discover the charm of its mysterious and adorable residents: the milu deer. It was the only media art work themed "ecological civilization" at the event.

A group photo at the 2025 "Culture City of East Asia" International Symposium.

This ten-minute-long show vividly depicted a story of "milu deer return to the Dongting Lake" in poetic narrations, immersing the audience from different countries into a journey across the Dongting Lake.

 
"It is an incredibly cool experience. The work has strong visual impact, and the integration of multimedia, storytelling, and history has deeply captivated me," a South Korean artist expressed his excitement after watching the performance.

The creative team meets with the audience.

"A Lesson About the Milu Deer: A Journey Across Dongting Lake" is China's first AR multi-dimensional space theatre. Inspired by a true story of the return of milu deer to the Dongting Lake, it tells a story of the leading character Liu Husheng who learns about and realizes the significance of protecting milu deer, and finally saves the first returned milu deer at the Dongting Lake. By showing humans and the natural world responding to one another, this story forges a deep bond and delivers a moving account of growth, guardianship, and coexistence.

During the six-day shows, more than 600 artists from different countries, local media art enthusiasts, public audience, and students watched the performance. The performances received universal acclaim.

The audience watch the show.

The international debut of this show presented a successful integration of traditional Chinese culture and media art, and showcased China's long-standing wisdom in ecological civilization to the world.

Milu deer, a unique species in China, once disappeared on this land due to habitat loss and ecological chain breakage. In 1985, China reintroduced milu deer and has been striving to rebuild its wild population. As of this year, the number of milu deer around the Dongting Lake has increased to nearly 400.

The audience watch the show.

Nikki Macrae, a Culture Development Officer at Belfast City Council, Ireland was deeply touched by the show. "I really want to go to the Dongting Lake where milu deer inhabit! This work is indeed captivating. I am enchanted by the history of that land," he said.  

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn. 

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunantoday