In the province of Hebei, almost near the border of Mongolia, some 300,000 music lovers gather in the grasslands of Zhangbei for the InMusic Festival every year. The festival is the biggest of its kind in China and offers both Mongolian and Chinese acts as well as international names.
One of the men behind is Li Hongjie. Back in 2006 he visited the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, a festival he still remembers as the greatest of his life. In fact he enjoyed it so much that he took his experiences back to China, which has proved a massive success.
”Roskilde is the best festival of my life. It is a paradise for fans of rock music,” said Chinese Li Hongjie who has visited rock festivals all over the world.
When he visited Roskilde Festival for the first time in 2006 he had an idea: He wanted to create a similar festival for the young Chinese.
And he succeeded. Today the festival in the province of Hebei lasts three days and has 300,000 guests every year.
Li Hongjie and a small group of colleagues also visited the Danish festival this summer. Roskilde Festival 2013 ended this Sunday night.
Li Hongjie explains that there is a big difference between Roskilde and the Chinese sibling, especially if you look at the audience.
“In Denmark the young people are very relaxed and they enjoy the music and each other. In China they are shyer and the atmosphere is not as loose as ion Roskilde,” he explains and adds.
“It will be a few years before we see a change in that. The young Chinese are very different from the generation of their parents and they are very interested in music and Western subculture.”
