A music kingdom inside Beijing's ancient alleys

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CGTN

In Beijing, eclectic music flows out of a pub in a siheyuan (a traditional courtyard dwelling) not far from the Drum Tower.

Zhang Jincan, the club's founder, is dedicated to music. His nickname is "69," the year of the iconic Woodstock Festival, which became Zhang’s favorite era while still a young rocker in college.

CGTN Photo

Zhang was focused on his academics before he opened the club. However, he devoted himself to working in music in southern China's Xiamen City and Beijing for a few years, and eventually started his dream business. "At the beginning, we asked friends to fill the place up. Gradually, we got more fans," Zhang recalls.

Photo courtesy of Zhang Jincan

Zhang still remembers the very first performer at his club. "In the middle of 2014, the club was still being built. The stage had just been completed. It was a friend of mine, [he was] very old. He was the VP of a famous company and a country blues artist. After dinner, he came to the site of the building and played some pieces with us. He was our first artist to ever perform onstage.”

Zhang never thought that his degrees in science were for nothing. "My educational background plays a major role in my career. I'm lucky enough to have a balance between my work and my hobbies."

The concept behind the club is that it is "open source," meaning it is always open to different bands. Inclusiveness is the core idea of the club.

Photo courtesy of Zhang Jincan

"A 'siheyuan' is a traditional Beijing compound, but we decorated it in a bit of a Western style. Some of the bands play folk music, some play rock and roll. Roots, folk, world music; we got them all. Our uniqueness comes from merging Western and Eastern music, in terms of software and hardware, visual arts and content and all."

CGTN Photo

Zhang is friendly with every band in the club, helping them with their themes, posters, copywriting, translations, and promotions on different social media platforms. He even works as a cameraman during their performances. Some musicians use his photos as their avatars online, which makes Zhang very happy.

CGTN Photo

After years of hard work, Zhang has turned his club into a diverse platform, a mini-United Nations for indie music. In 2017, nearly 1000 musicians from over 30 countries performed here. Half of them were international bands that played roots music. "Those people who really love music and life, and those who really love to share, I hope they can find a sense of belonging here," Zhang says.

The story is one in The 1.3 Billion series exploring the diverse lives that make up China.