The music scenes at the Corona SunSets Festival in Shanghai on Nov 4 to 5. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The two-day Corona SunSets Festival in Shanghai is a case in point. Under the banner "This is living", organizers created a full-scale immersive experience by timing events to coincide with sunset, and everything took place on a man-made sand beach. All that and the good music could be washed down with refreshing beer, with a light breeze that added to the holiday feel. "We encourage people to go outdoors and enjoy life, and hope that more people will be inspired by the sunset power through our festival," says Rebecca Kuo, director of public relations at Anheuser-Busch InBev, APAC North.

The same-themed festival took place in Xiamen, Fujian province last November, featuring a more local cast, including the DJ Ben Huang, one of the pioneers of clubbing in China. His mixing work for artists such as Faye Wong makes him one of the most in-demand DJs in China.

An increasing number of domestic DJs and bands at music festivals is helping the Chinese local music scene to grow.

"There's been a big shift from the days when the best domestic bands were simply copycats of the big Western names," says He Jingtong, a professor of business marketing at Nankai University in Tianjin.

"Chinese bands are now really finding their own voice. I think they have a certain confidence that they can lead instead of follow."