In August 1969, over half a million people flocked to a farm in Bethel, New York to rock out to 32 acts including Jefferson Airplane, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin and many more. From that summer onwards, that festival – known to the world as Woodstock – became one of the most pivotal moments in music history. Meanwhile, in 1969 in China, the only music to be heard were national communist songs, while the fashion of the day was not t-shirts with peace signs and bell-bottoms, but blue or khaki military suits – nobody dared to embrace anything Western that could be deemed bourgeois.

China has come a long way since then and large-scale music festivals have become a staple in major cities for the greater part of a decade. However, music festivals in China get a lot of slack for last minute cancellations, unreliable line-ups, last-minute venue changes, over-presence of uniformed police, super early ending times, lack of alcohol and the list goes on…But despite these annoyances let’s just remember for a second that China doesn’t have four or five decades of music festival experience like the West. The scene is still in its infant stage so things are bound to loosen up with time. For now though, we recommend you leave the comparisons at home and just enjoy the music festivals around China as much as you can – 2013 is set to be a big festival year in the Mainland so we’ve rounded up some of the biggest festivals across the country this May and June.

2013 Beijing music festivals

1) Great Wall Music Festival

When: May 11, 14:00-23:30

Where:Juyongguan Great Wall(北京居庸关长城)

How much: 380 RMB (early bird), 480 RMB (presale), 580 RMB (at door)

Tickets: http://www.gettickets.cn/

Line-up: DJ Andy C, David Guetta, UFO (Ultra Funky Origins), Ouyang, Chill, DJ Kami, Mansun, Ghost, DJ Spark

Getting there: Music festival buses will take revelers directly to the festival site. Buses depart from Beijing Language University East Gate and Beijing Workers’ Stadium West Gate.

2) Intro Electronic Music Festival

When: May 25, 14:00-23:30

Where: Crab Island Convention Center (蟹岛会展中心)

How much: 150 RMB (pre-sale until May 1), 200 RMB (pre-sale until May 23), 300 RMB (at door)

Tickets: http://sendmetickets.com

Stages: 3

Line-up: The Syndicate, Mickey Zhang, Yang Bing, Ouyang, David K, Patrick Yu, Huang Weiwei etc.

Getting there: A round-trip shuttle bus will run every 45 minutes starting from 13:30 from Gongti North Gate and Wudaokao. For more info email intromusicfestival@gmail.com