GUIYANG, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- At first glance, dozens of curving terraces carved into a hillside in southwest China looked like farmland, but no crops were expected to grow there.
As night fell, more than 10,000 people filled the tiers, singing in the rain as music and bands of light swept across the hillside.
Held on Oct. 1, the first day of China's week-long National Day holiday, the open-air concert began at 7 p.m. in light rain at Shexiang Ancient Town, Dafang County, in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou-born singer Zhou Shen, a household name in China, performed alongside other musicians, drawing fans from across the country.
The unusual event has become a new tourism draw in a community originally built for relocated rural residents. There is no roof or enclosed auditorium, and the stage stands at the bottom of a bowl-shaped hillside. Landscaped terraces serve as seats, and the surrounding mountains and night sky form a natural backdrop.
Wang Lei, the concert's stage designer and chief director, said the guiding principle is to keep the design "down to earth," with the stage appearing as though it has "grown out of the earth."
Wang said the team has made use of an existing ornamental pool and drawn inspiration from Dafang's reputation for traditional bean products, shaping the stage like a traditional stone mill. With little elaborate decoration, the design is intended to blend into the landscape rather than compete with it.
Chen Hongjin, who traveled from Guiyang, the provincial capital, said the setting is part of the appeal.
"A concert in nature feels completely different from one in a stadium," Chen said. "You can hear the wind and the rustling leaves along with the music. It feels as if all your senses are heightened."
When the ancient town was developed as a relocation community in 2016, earth and rock excavated during construction were used to reshape a low-lying hollow into the curved tiers following the natural contours of the hillside. Flowers, shrubs and other ornamental plants were later added, creating a public space for residents.
Seen from above, the concentric curves resemble the ridges of a fingerprint, giving the site its name -- the "Fingerprint of Earth."
The town is now home to more than 12,000 people relocated from different parts of Dafang County. Before becoming a concert venue, the terraces hosted community cultural activities, including folk-song performances and traditional Torch Festival celebrations.
This summer, larger concerts brought the space to a much wider audience. Featuring popular singers, the concert series is designed as a long-term, community-oriented cultural program that combines artistic quality with free public access. Organizers have adapted the existing landscape rather than building a conventional venue, using the terraces as natural seating and lighting the curves of the hillside after dark.
The concerts have also brought a sharp rise in visitor numbers. According to local tourism authorities, the town recorded about 756,600 tourist visits between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1, up 154.74 percent year on year. Eight concerts held during this period attracted more than 296,000 visits.
On Oct. 1 alone, Dafang recorded about 99,800 tourist visits, while Shexiang Ancient Town received around 58,000 visits, more than six times the figure recorded a year earlier.
The concerts are free, though advance reservations are required. Economic benefits come largely from spending on food, accommodation, shopping and other tourism services.
In August, consumption in Shexiang Ancient Town and nearby areas exceeded 70 million yuan (about 10.4 million U.S. dollars).
Liu Hanxun, who runs a local barbecue restaurant, said his monthly revenue rose to more than 130,000 yuan in August, from around 40,000 to 50,000 yuan previously.
For the relocation community, the increase in visitors has also created more opportunities for residents to find jobs, run small businesses and raise income close to home.
Since 2022, local authorities have helped organize markets, performances and festival activities to encourage such opportunities, and the concerts have accelerated that trend.
The influx of visitors has also prompted improvements to walking routes, lighting, power supply, public toilets and medical service sites. During the National Day holiday, temporary parking and public transport services were expanded, while traffic management, security, food safety and medical support were strengthened.
Near the end of the concert on National Day, performers gathered in a circle on stage as the crowd joined them in singing the Chinese song My Motherland and Me. Fireworks rose above the valley.
Among the visitors was Wang Tingting, who traveled from Chengdu city in neighboring Sichuan Province after seeing the concert promoted on social media. A fan of Zhou Shen, she secured a reservation and made her first trip to Dafang.
"Sitting on the terraces and watching a concert was very different from being in a stadium," Wang said. "With the mountains and water around you, everything felt more natural and alive."
Wang said she came for the concert but planned to spend more time exploring the surrounding area and trying local food during the holiday.
"Music brings people here, but we hope their experience goes beyond the concert," said Huang Shan, deputy director of the county's culture, sports, radio, television and tourism bureau. "By linking performances with local scenery, food and other attractions, we want to turn visitor flows into broader tourism consumption." ■
