![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2010\/08\/DSC_0358.jpg\" "\\"DSC_0358\\"")
<\/a>Our luxurious accomodations.<\/p><\/div>\n
As a result of our nearly day long journey to get there, we were too tired <\/strong>(\u592a\u7d2f\u4e86 – t\u00e0i l\u00e8i le) to worry about the details, and were more concerned with finding a place to set up camp<\/strong> (\u8bbe\u7acb\u8425 – sh\u00e8 l\u00ec y\u00edng).\u00a0 After walking around for a few minutes, we found a dirt lot that already had a few tents set up.\u00a0 A few people were milling around either setting up or tearing down tents, so we went ahead and put up our tents.\u00a0 While I would have preferred a grassy area, I was in far too much of a zombie-like state to care.\u00a0 Luckily, it was very easy<\/strong> (\u5f88\u5bb9\u6613 – h\u011bn r\u00f3ng y\u00ec) to get our tents up, and within a matter of minutes, I was sound asleep.<\/p>\n If only they had these at Bonnaroo…<\/p><\/div>\n After a well deserved nap, we awoke to explore our surroundings.\u00a0 Our dirt lot had what looked like some sort of high ropes course straight out of a summer camp.\u00a0 Up the road a bit, there were some dune-buggie like race cars. Around the corner, there was a little shop selling and renting military apparel and fake guns.\u00a0 Again, we questioned whether or not we were really at a music festival, even though there were signs everywhere telling us that we were. Finally, we figured out where to buy tickets.\u00a0 At 80 RMB, or about $12 for the day, the cheap tickets were a reminder that music festivals are still very new to China.<\/p>\n Camp set up and tickets in hand, it was time to eat lunch<\/strong> (\u5403\u5348\u996d – ch\u012b w\u01d4 f\u00e0n).\u00a0 As there was so much confusion involved in finding the festival, it was only fitting that there would be confusion in finding a place to eat.\u00a0 Eventually, we were guided into the cafeteria where a buffet<\/strong> (\u81ea\u52a9\u9910 – z\u00ec zh\u00f9 c\u0101n) awaited.\u00a0 The best part about lunch was being able to stock up on drinking water<\/strong> (<\/strong>\u77ff\u6cc9\u6c34 – ku\u00e0ng qu\u00e1n shu\u01d0) and fruit<\/strong> (\u6c34\u679c – shu\u01d0 gu\u01d2), seeing as how we brought nothing to eat or drink with us.<\/p>\n After lunch, we headed into the concert area to scope it out.\u00a0 On our way in, a small army of volunteers<\/strong> (\u5fd7\u613f\u8005 – zh\u00ec yu\u00e0n zh\u011b) greeted us and equipped us with wristbands.\u00a0 They were mostly teenagers, and it was quite obvious they were more than excited to be a part of the festival.\u00a0 Here is one area where Chinese festivals are very similar to American festivals – a large portion of the staff are young workers who are content with a free ticket as payment.<\/p>\n The festival’s logo – a dancing tent.<\/p><\/div>\n With only one stage<\/strong> (\u821e\u53f0 – w\u01d4 t\u00e1i) inside the concert area, there wasn’t a whole lot to see.\u00a0 While the lack of options was a bit disappointing, I was happy to not have to spend the weekend running back and forth between stages, as is necessary at large American festivals.<\/p>\n Shortly thereafter, the first band of the day hit the stage.\u00a0 The first band was a Chinese heavy metal <\/strong>(\u91cd\u91d1\u5c5e – zh\u00f2ng j\u012bn sh\u01d4) band, as were most of the acts for the rest of the weekend.\u00a0 While the older fans were head-banging along with the rocking guitar solos, the youngsters in attendance could be seen cupping their ears in an attempt to block the excessively loud music.<\/p>\n Enough security?<\/p><\/div>\n From the moment we arrived, it was clear we were three of only a selective few \u8001\u5916 in attendance.\u00a0 With my silly hat<\/strong> (\u5e3d\u5b50 – m\u00e0o zi) and our gaudy behavior, I guess we came across as rock stars <\/strong>(\u6447\u6eda\u660e\u661f – y\u00e1o g\u01d4n m\u00edng x\u012bng), because every other person we met wanted to pose for a photo with us.\u00a0 At first, it was kind of cute and entertaining, but after about 50 photos, it got to be quite annoying.\u00a0 Being accustomed to life in Beijing – where foreigners are a common sight – we weren’t so used to being celebrities, but we took it in stride.\u00a0 Our German friends, however, were not so fond of the local paparazzi, so they wrote up a sign that read, “Want a photo? Give us beer<\/strong>” (\u8981\u7167\u7247\uff0c\u7ed9\u6211\u4eec\u5564\u9152 – y\u00e0o zh\u00e0o pi\u00e0n, g\u011bi w\u01d2 men p\u00ed ji\u01d4).\u00a0 The sign actually worked, and the next 1o or 20 photos we had to take came with a handful of free beers.\u00a0 Needless to say, the mass amounts of free beer helped to make the rest of the day more enjoyable…<\/p>\n I know… our hats are awesome.<\/p><\/div>\n For the rest of the festival, we enjoyed the Chinese heavy metal bands mixed in with the handful of foreign bands, and questioned the choice of Norah Jones as the house music.\u00a0 How her soulful, easy-listening songs accompany satin worshiping death metal is beyond me, but apparently it made sense to someone…<\/p>\n This kid was hilarious.<\/p><\/div>\n As the day turned into night, we got more and more used to the attention we were<\/p>\n Future Phishheads.<\/p><\/div>\n getting from the locals.\u00a0 Some young girls even told me it was their first time<\/strong> (\u7b2c\u4e00\u6b21 – d\u00ec y\u012b c\u00ec) seeing foreigners in person, and they spent the remainder of the night following us around, holding Rachel’s hand, and asking us questions while giggling.\u00a0 While doing my best to play translator between the girls and Rachel, a young boy showed up, obviously anxious to make friends with the \u5916\u56fd\u4eba as well.\u00a0 Despite the fact that we were all incredibly worn out and ready to fall asleep, we did our best to keep our eyes open for pictures while I did my best to play translator between our young Chinese friends and my newbie American friends.\u00a0 Even though I was more than ready to fall asleep, I managed to keep my head up in an effort to facilitate the rare multi-cultural exchange that we had going on at the moment.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>