Dipdipmusic Festival: A One-Day Extravaganza Unlike Any Other

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Dipdipmusic, purveyors of some of the city's best EDM parties, are putting on what could be Beijing's biggest electronic music show on Apr 1 -- with four distinct "stages" playing different kinds of music throughout, all situated in Maojie, a renovated factory space picked out by founder Jiajun and partner Yuchen.

Maojie makes its first appearance as an activity space in 60 years

Revitalizing a Historic Winery

One of the most challenging parts about organizing a large-scale dance party for 600 people is to find a suitable venue. Jiajun's vision was to find an underground space that embodies his artistic expression. However, finding such a venue was not easy. Just when he was about to abandon hope, a friend introduced him to a super cool place. The moment Jiajun laid his eyes on the venue, he knew it was perfect, and he thought to himself, "This is it!". He was determined to use this unique venue to host one of the coolest and most talked-about parties in the capital.

Dip Dip Music founder Jiajun is set to thrill EDM fans with a one-of-a-kind experience

Jiajun was captivated by the rustic warehouse, finding it to be the right kind of place for a proper EDM party. Furthermore, the place has a rich history as it was constructed in the 1950s with Soviet collaboration, and served as Beijing's first winery.

The venue is a classic architecture revamped by the Soviets under Zhou En Lai's supervision

In 2020, Yuchen spearheaded a renovation project at the old winery with the aim of infusing more cultural significance into Haidian District. He was hoping to find a like-minded partner who could recognize the potential of the place. So, when Jiajun finally met Yuchen in 2022, and shared his vision of hosting an electrifying dance party at the venue, the pair immediately connected and set out to bring this extraordinary event to life.

Meet Yuchen, the mastermind behind Maojie!

The Mesmerizing Design of Maojie

The partnership between Yuchen and Jiajun is a match made in heaven. Having attended Burning Man in Nevada multiple times, Yuchen had his finger on the kind of party Jiajun is looking for, and the two have worked together to bring it to life.

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These ideas come to life in Maojie, which is so large it will be able to have multiple stages and rooms playing different music at the same time. One highlight is the a massive 92-meter long glass-covered walkway. This space will play host to techno and avant-garde music.

Can you imagine dancing to techno EDM on this glass-covered walkway?

There are three other spaces, each with their own distinct theme, from a "dub shelter" adorned with antique lammps and old chandeliers, to a "silent chamber" where guests will be able to to tuch the arteries of a giant digital heart.

Invite strangers or friends to touch the heart's arteries in the silent chamber

As impressive as Maojie has become thanks to the hard work of Yuchen and Jiajun, the creation of the space, as well as the formulation of such a massive music event, took a long time to create.

Overcoming obstacles

Planning the project amidst the pandemic was an uphill task that required them to surmount several obstacles. Jiajun revealed, “You know, during the 281-day journey, there wasn't a single day that went by without thinking about how to deliver an unforgettable event to our audience. We had planned and prepared for the worst-case scenarios.”

Bring spray paint to express yourself on a giant canvas at the event!

For Jiajun, the situation felt even more personal because, in 2022, not a single EDM event could be successfully held in the capital due to the pandemic. He recalled, "I remember during that time, many places had everything set up and ready for the party, but they couldn't make the event happen due to Covid restrictions."

Yuchen revealed that their initial plan was to launch the event by the end of last year, unfortunately, due to the pandemic, this timeline was no longer feasible. There is no doubt that the pandemic hindered their progress, however, on the bright side, it also provided an opportunity for them to pause and contemplate how to make the experience more interactive.

"You know, we just really wanted to pay more attention to the details. Everyone understands that sound quality is crucial for the success of any music event. To test the sound, my partner and I rented all the speakers just to make sure they would meet the standards on the day of the event. Transporting so many speaker systems was expensive, but we were committed to delivering the best possible sound quality on the day," they said.

Looking back, Jiajun and Yuchen never imagined that the event they meticulously planned for 281 days would finally come to fruition this month. They shared, "We had many requests from fans who had been to our previous event asking about when the next event would finally happen. We were relieved that there was so much anticipation and the tickets have also sold out fast." For the event Jiajun drew inspiration from Burning Man, where it takes a month to set up a temporary city in the Nevada desert for a nine-day dance festival. "In the same spirit, we wanted to create the biggest Dipdipmusic festival ever for just one day at the old winery with everything then disappearing a day later."

Tickets for the event have already sold out! But there's still a few spots left for Beijinger readers -- all you have to do is scan the QR code below and you'll be able to take part in a lucky draw for five remaining spots!

Unveiling Beijing's Best-Kept Secret: Techno Club Inside a 1956 Brewery will be happening at 冇街 拱廊街 (mǎo jiē gǒngláng jiē) from 1-10pm, Apr 1.

Maojie Gonglang Jie 冇街 拱廊街

Building 42, North district, Longhui 1910 Cultural and Creative Industry Park, No.2 Yuquan Lu, Haidian district
北京市海淀区玉泉路2号龙徽1910文化创意产业园北区42幢

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Images: Courtesy of Dipdipmusic

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