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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Elsie Chen and Dake Kang

Chairman Mao quotes and techno: Welcome to China’s underground rave scene

Xing Long, a DJ and rave organizer, tests audio gear ahead of a rave at a friend’s bar in Changchu - (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Crouch through the small metal door and walk down the dark tunnel, and even before you step into the abandoned air raid shelter, the air reverberates with pounding techno beats. Young Chinese holding booze and cigarettes shake and sway in a red-lit passageway, below a big screen rolling through quotations from Chairman Mao.

This is an underground rave in China, part of a subculture growing in hidden corners of the nation’s cities, even as its political and cultural mainstream grow increasingly controlled, staid and predictable.

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