FREE MUSIC GALA: The lead singer of the local rock band the Dama Llamas interacts with the audience at the 2009 Golden Beach Music Festival (JING XIAOLEI)

It was the second day of the three-day Golden Beach Music Festival on Huangdao Peninsula, west of Qingdao, one of China's most renowned coastal tourist cities. Lines of orange beach umbrellas stood out along the coastline against the big blue sea and sunny sky. Brightly colored tents dotted Golden Beach, which is said to be the best beach in China with the longest stretch of untainted silver sand.

With one hour to go before the start of the show on September 13, Liu Siyuan, one of the festival's chief promoters, was sitting alone at the sound-mixing station with his head buried in a box lunch. His cellphone, which was close at hand, kept ringing from time to time and Liu picked it up to answer all kinds of questions and give orders on everything from booking train tickets to disposing of trash.

"I'm so busy these days, since I have to arrange everything for the festival. How would I know how to deal with the garbage on the beach?" he said.

But that didn't matter a bit to festival goers. On the first day, more than 1,000 music fans, local residents and tourists gathered at Golden Beach to enjoy dynamic music mixed with local beer, sea breeze and sunshine.

"This is the most unforgettable music festival I've ever attended," said Mu Er, a music fan and magazine editor who came all the way from Shanghai especially for the beach festival. Mu has been to many other domestic music festivals, including those held on grassland and in city parks.

"Nothing can compare to the beach music experience, which is so extraordinary, relaxing and so much fun," she said, while wandering around a market where vendors sold postcards, CDs, hats, masks, rock-themed T-shirts and other small handmade products.

Festival goers turned the beach into a giant playground—playing football, swimming, riding motorcycles, flying kites, or just simply sitting on the beach and drinking beer. "(The beach is) damn awesome!" said Joe, a musician from Wales who plays bass with a local five-piece rock band called The Dama Llamas, as he was about to go on stage.

As night fell on the festival for the first time, the band Shanren (meaning "mountainous men") from southwestern Yunnan Province performed their unique blend of pop, rock and folk music, creating a romantic atmosphere by the seaside under the clear starry sky, below which a young couple snuggled on the beach.

Brave idealists

Unlike other music festivals in China, the Golden Beach one is free and open to all, which is good news for music fans across the country.

Last year, Liu Siyuan met Wang Yong via their common friend Fu Tong. Both Liu and Wang were born in Huangdao. Liu went to Beijing to pursue his music dream several years ago, and is now the lead singer for the band Sixian Fangge. Wang is a successful businessman who also has a personal interest in music. The three of them came up with the idea to start a culture company and organize a big music festival.