02 · GALLERY
Five frames.
You take a bus three hours north-east from Beijing into a valley ringed by Wall on every horizon. The Huangyaguan section. Stone watchtowers built in the 14th century to keep the Mongols out. Now there are turntables on the battlements. The Yin stage faces the morning sun, the Yang stage the afternoon, and a Mainstage at the foot of a 600-year-old castle keep where 3D mapping crawls up the brick. Capacity is 1,000. The bass carries down the valley because the Wall has been refusing to let sound escape for six centuries. Sunrise on day two is not a metaphor. The sky goes apricot and the techno keeps going.
Stay on-site in the festival tented camp at the foot of the Wall. The free shuttle from Beijing closes at midnight on day one and starts again at noon on day three. The bonfire silent disco runs until dawn.
Electronic music on top of the Great Wall. The single most beautiful festival venue on Earth, and the closest thing to a Sonic Paths thesis statement.
Annual, three days mid-to-late September. The Huangyaguan section is at its clearest in autumn light. The sunrise on day two is the photographed peak.
Annual three-day festival, September. Camping at the base of the Wall. Yin and Yang stages on the battlements run from afternoon through dawn. Bonfire silent disco runs until daylight.
Fly Beijing (PEK or PKX), drive 3 hours north-east to Huangyaguan via the G45 expressway. Free festival shuttle from Beijing centre on opening and closing days. Camping at the festival site is included.