Where: Great Wall of China/ Mutianyu/ Huaibei International Ski Resort/ Badaling

There are no shortages of great music festivals around the world.But if you are looking to have a mesmerizing experience at one of the modern seven wonders of the world, the great wall music festival is second to none.Novelty doesn’t come a bigger and juicer way than attending a festival on the great wall of China.This festival truly stands out with the well curated line up that features some of the biggest names in the underground side of the electronic music arena.

The rejuvenated Great Wall Festival has been occuring since 2016.Mutiabyu,Badaling,Huaibei international ski resort  are few of the sites at the Great Wall of China  where this festival has been held in recent years.Huaibei international ski resort is a woodland right next to the Great Wall, Beijing.Its basically approximately a 30 hour techno party with the experience of the great wall.Great wall festival takes pride in featuring the heavy artists in their line up.For 2019 rendition techno royalty such as Ben Klock, Marccel Dettmann, Dave Clarke, Mind Against, Pan Pot featured in the line up.In the previous year heavy hitting artists such as Dixon, Nina Kraviz,Recondite, Carl Craig performed at the festival.This festival provides the opportunity to experience the most ambitious music experience at one of the seven wonders of the world, The Great Wall, China.

This festival holds a 5k run along the Great wall as part of the festival itself. Those who are keen can participate in this run. Many festival goers participate in this 5k run to remind themselves the importance of the physical exercise, and there are others who participate in the 5k run to be a part of it and to have a complete experience of the festival.

It is not, however, at all an easy  task to arrange  a unique event such as the Great Wall Festival.Isabella Wang, The festival’s COO  who is responsible for running this event in its present incarnation since 2016, mentions  that there are mountains of paperwork along with intricate procedures to sort the application process alone. That the authorities are still at bay as to what the Techno/electronic music is – is no help either. “They don’t know what techno is,” She continues. “And booking DJs can also be a problem because it’s not like in Europe, where it’s very easy to fly from Paris to Berlin. Costs can be high to come for one gig.”

 Invariably, there are some music experience on  the ancient grey stone tower  that was built by Ming Dynasty some five centuries ago to protect the aboriginals from the nomadic tribes’ invasion.These grey stone towers are the parts of 5,500 mile long fortification that is known as The Great Wall of China.Some one can take this opportunity to rave on what happens to be one of the modern seven wonders of the world.But its not just the imagery that is brilliant about this festival; it’s the combination of setting and the mind bending audio alchemy – an experience that’s truly mind expanding.

Sources: http://www.greatwallfestival.com/run.html, https://radseason.com/best-electro-music-festivals-in-asia/, https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2135047/asias-spring-and-summer-music-festivals-you-should-not-miss, https://thehkhub.com/best-music-festivals-in-asia/, https://www.festicket.com/festivals/great-wall-festival/2019/, https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1193785, https://mixmag.net/feature/nina-kraviz-on-the-great-wall-of-china-was-a-magical-pinch-yourself-rave-moment,

                  

Venue: Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Smash Japan organizes the famous 3-day music event which features more than 200 international and Japanese musicians. It is the biggest outdoor music event in Japan. Approximately 100,000 people attended the Fuji Rock festival in 2005.

Fuji Rock festival is named after its first ever venue, the base of Mount fuji which held the first event in 1997. Naeba ski resort in Yuzawa, Niigata has been hosting the event since 1999.

History

The very first year of the festival was a disaster. It was held on Tenjinyama ski resort near Mount Fuji. The first day of the event was washed out by a typhoon and it was supposed to be a 2-day event. The Red Hot Chili Pepper performed through a storm although Anthony Kiedis having a broken arm.This incident made him legendary among the Fuji Rock veterans.The audience was not prepared for the heavy rains and strong winds and many of them required medical attention for Hypothermia.The organizers cancelled the second day given the perilous weather at the first day.Ironically the second day turned out to be sunny and bright, thus ended the first outdoor Rock festival in Japan.

The second year was a held in Toyosu on Tokyo’s waterfront.The event was a success except for the fact that the event goers had to face the searing heat of the mid-summer Tokyo.The festival moved to Naeba, Niigata from the 3^rd year 1999. Its not close to mount Fuji, however the name of the festival was kept.The name and location of this successful music event has been the same since then till today.

Preference Perspective:

Since Naeba is a ski resort it offers numerous accommodation options such as hotels, Minshuku and Ryokan at close proximity to the festival site although competition for these accommodations is high.Nearby ski resorts such as Asagai, Mitsumata , and tashiro are also some other accommodations options for the festival goers.The free shuttle bus that links JR Echigo and Yuzawa station can be used to travel between this ski resort areas and the festival site.The bus takes about 40 minutes to an hour each way and the service is available until 2am.

There are some other accommodation options for the festival goers if they are interested.The campsite on the golf course just next to the festival site is very popular among the festival goers as wel. Approximately, 17,000 festival goers opt for the campsite option as their accommodation during the festival each year. Previously some used to take the option of sleeping rough- a common practice among the Japanese youth during warm months which is prohibited now.

Tickets are available online since few months before the event. There is no hassle to collect the ticket. This is something the Fuji music festival goers appreciated in recent years.

Aesthetic Perspective

Fuji Rock festival offers more than just music to the festival goers. There are many different areas within the vicinity to add different flavors in the experience. The Green stage is the main outdoor stage . Large screen monitors are availablein this area and can accommodate 40,000 people.

Gypsy Avalon

A chilled-out  stage with the  capacity of 1000. The electricity that is used in is generated from the solar power and bio diesel to decrease the emmission of co2.This is the stage if some one is looking for a friendly atmosphere and to enjoy close performances from the artists.

Gypsy Avalon, Café de paris, Pyramid Garden, Kids Land, Naeba Shokudo are few of the many other intriguing stages.

Taste perspective

This is the music festival that brings people from across the world. Also, Artists from many different nations come here to perform every year. As a visitor one can truly experience a global music phenomenon.

Sources: https://en.fujirockfestival.com, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/ , http://tokyofashion.com/