Photo provided to China Daily

On May 21, Du Limei was getting acupuncture therapy when it occurred to her that most people are born on a bed and die on one.

The 33-year-old then wrote a poem on her musing.

On the same day, Jiangnan Liguo was grounded at home by rheumatism and found Shanghai's entire population was also staying home as if to keep him company. The independent film producer then penned his thoughts on the large-scale otaku.

These stories, along with 30-plus others that recorded personal happenings on May 21 this year, were gleaned from across the country in a week's time. They become raw material for One Day in China, a play that will take the stage of Penghao Theater from June 24 to 26.

Directed by Japanese heavyweight director and playwright Makoto Sato with help from emerging Chinese directors Sun Xiaoxing and He Yufan, the play is a highlight of the ongoing Beijing Nanluoguxiang Performing Arts Festival.

For the 70-minute play, based on true stories, Sato was first inspired by another One Day in China compilation. The book, edited by the Chinese literary guru Mao Dun in 1936, also included submissions and documents from all walks of life that recorded events of May 21 nearly 80 years ago.

"It is amazing how many themes and stories were at play in the book," Sato says. "So I want to try it out this time here (in China), to see what comes out of it."

He decided to keep all the entries, which include journals, poems and timetables, in their essence, only condensing and combining those that share the same themes.