Busking in China

Recently met up with some friends around 798 Art District in Beijing, an interesting enough place which gives a good place to start if interested in getting some kind of understanding about Chinese art, even though the place is becoming increasingly commercialised.

The area is brimming with local artists of both the musical and artistic kind displaying their wares and strumming their tunes. By chance my friend had his guitar, and I had my bike. If ever the stage was more set for some impromptu busking, this was it.

We started off with a song we had invented more or less on the spot: slightly uninspired, lacking any strong or variable vocals, playing excessively upon repeated chords, and drawn together by three guys devoid of any discernible music talent. Nonetheless, it sounded O.K., and I think we were unlucky not to earn so much as 1 kuai. The lyrics translate roughly as "Tomu loves Zhongguo (China)", and "Shenlin loves Riben (Japan)"