Fun in the Sun: Strawberry Festival

A full day of sunshine, music, and good vibes.

After the longest Beijing winter in years, Beijing deserved a beautiful day like this. And what better way to enjoy a bright and sunny day than chilling outdoors at a massive music festival.

Perfect timing for both the Strawberry & Midi Festival this long weekend.

The Strawberry Festival was held in Tongzhou Canal Park (通州运河公园), with six different stages spread across 90 acres with plenty of grassy hills all around with all different genres of music, bands and DJs playing everything from rock and folk to electro.

Highlights of the day for me were Carsick Cars at the Love Stage & Patrick Yu at the Electronic Stage.

Having enjoyed a full day in the sun, I can’t complain, but I must advise you to come prepared – pack some sandwiches/snacks as the food available is mostly Chinese with people getting either noodle soup bowls or ch’uar sticks. Also, note that drinks are not allowed inside and yes, they did run out of water for about an hour in the afternoon.

For anyone who missed out on today, be happy that there are still a few more days of music festivals – Strawberry Festival (May 1-3) & Midi Festival (May 1-4).

Strawberry Festival:

• Address: Tongzhou Canal Park, East of Dongguanda Qiao, Tongzhou district. 通州区东关大桥东通州运河公园.
• Dates: Saturday, May 1- Monday, May 3, 1pm-9.30pm daily.
• Tickets: 80RMB or 180RMB for a three-day pass. Web presale at Mlive.com. See festival.modernsky.com for details.
• Getting there: Take the Batong subway line to Tongzhou Beiyuan, then take a cab (RMB 25) or the free shuttle bus to the park.

Midi Festival:

• Address: Haidian Park, 2 Xinjiangongmen Lu, Haidian district. 海淀区新建宫门路2号.
• Dates: Saturday May 1- Tuesday, May 4. 11am-9.40pm
  
• Tickets: 240RMB (four-day ticket presale); 80RMB (per day at the door). See www.midifestival.com for details. Click here for a map of the festival grounds.
• Getting there: Buses 302, 904, 933支, 933, 973, 362, 384, 特5, 817, 725, 708, 992, 996 or 运通108 to Fu Rong Li station. Buses 740, 740内, 740外, 735, 835, 840内, 840外, 751, 982 or 983 to Haidian Qiao stop. Or take a taxi from the Zhongnancun (line 4) or Suzhoujie (line 10) subway station.

LumDimSaying: From “Change of Heart”

“This is my simple religion.

There is no need for temples;

no need for complicated philosophy.

Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;

the philosophy is kindness.”

-  from the novel, Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

*What is a LumDimSaying? A quote I find worth noting. And sharing.