The most popular music festival in China.
Last weekend, the Strawberry Music Festival took place in Chengdu, China, amid a record heat wave. Despite the scorching sun, attendees still pulled out all the bells and whistles with their fashion—albeit with tons of UV-protecting hats of the bucket and cowboy variety. One standout moment? A festivalgoer was wearing a colorful rave-ready belt around their exposed midriff, à la Carrie Bradshaw.
The two-day event also featured a stellar lineup of acts popular in China and beyond, including Wu Tiao Ren (one of the most popular folk bands in China), the nursing student turned pop star Mao Buyi (whom one outlet described as an “accidental megastar”), and the rock band Jiu Lian Zhen, which is making a name for itself by creating music in the more regional Hakka dialect instead of the standard Mandarin.
A lineup that mirrors China’s youth’s underrepresented vibrancy and diversity is nothing new. The Strawberry Music Festival first launched in 2009, at Beijing’s Tongzhou Canal Park, with some of the most cutting-edge acts in China at the time. Since that initial staging, more than 118 Strawberry Music Festivals have been held in 35 cities across China. More than 6.5 million people have attended over the past 14 years.