On this rock I stand

Jeroen Groenewegen-Lau. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Huge changes

It is obvious that there have been huge changes in Beijing's music scene, he says.

From the end of the 1990s to 2005, Wudaokou was a very important place in China's music scene, Groenewegen-Lau says, with many overseas students introducing new albums and new styles of music to the place. As demand for these new styles of music began to grow, many important live music venues began to appear, including the earliest incarnation of Yugong Yishan, a club that has become a venerable institution on the local music scene.

"There was no subway at that time," Groenewegen-Lau says. "Wudaokou was a poor place, with a lot of bungalows, and there were prostitutes and live houses as well. There was one place that was used for roller skating during the day and as a punk show venue at the weekend. They had really bad equipment and charged five to ten yuan to get in. The boss was said to be a madam who liked that kind of music."

Clubs including Scream, which later became a record label that was bought by Beijing Jingwen Records, opened, as did the club D-22, which would eventually close in 2012. Now almost live-entertainment venues or music clubs are in Wudaokou.