Guitar China: For the Love of Guitars and Children

Standing before me is the founder of Guitar China, China’s most comprehensive guitar music website, and all I can focus on is his goatee – perhaps the longest I’ve ever seen on a Chinese man. The man goes by two names: Jiang Wei, christened by his parents, and Mel Gibson, christened by co-workers who thought they were clever (and the result of a surplus of Gibson films in the pirated market). In this interview, we talked about the birth of Guitar China, the upcoming charity concert on July 3 and a band’s penchant for singing about Beijing Duck.

How did you come up with the idea of Guitar China?


I really love the guitar and when I first came to Beijing in 1999, I decided to start my own personal website about guitars. I soon realized that a lot of people were visiting my website and I made it an official website. A couple of years later, the website became a company. The best part about this website is that it offers a place for a lot of good guitar players to come together. And because they know each other from the website, they often perform together as well. We have roughly around 800,000 members.

What is the July 3 concert about?


Our annual July 3 charity concert is considered one of our biggest events. After the earthquake in WenChuan in 2008, we donated the money from the concerts that year to children who were left homeless. This year the China Social Welfare Education Foundation is running the Lighthouse Campaign, helping children who are orphans and cannot afford to attend school. Through our website, we’ve asked some of our professional members to play at the concert and the revenue from the tickets will be donated to the campaign. To make the charity event even better, we’ve asked for guitar donations. So far we have 12 guitars available for auction and the money raised will also be given to the organization.

What bands are performing?


The two main bands performing are The ChiRen and Wenfeng Modern Folk. The ChiRen is a band that sings solely about Beijing, such as the hutongs and Beijing Duck. Yeah, Beijing Duck – they’re all about old Beijing culture. They’ve already had multiple performances in Beijing and are well received by the public. The second band, Wenfeng, only uses traditional Chinese instruments to perform. You know, Western music typically involves guitars, violins or pianos, but Wenfeng is different in that regard. Their most famous song is a tribute to The Eagles Hot California. Look at the video below to hear their rendition of the famous tune.

Why did you choose the China Social Welfare Education Foundation, as opposed to other charities?


Children are the future. It’s pretty common to encounter children who are poor and have no access to education and it’s difficult for most families to provide their children with good education, especially for those living in more rural areas. We want to help make a difference.

What do you hope people will take away from this concert?


Love. And a lot of good Chinese rock.

Guitar China will stage its annual charity guitar concert at Tango on July 3. From 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm. Call 6428-2288 for tickets, 50 yuan at door and 40 yuan presale.

Image provided by Guitar China. Video: Youku.