Beijing International Canal Arts Fest, China: Back on Tour with LYS
Updated: 10 hours ago
Six days, two concerts, one unforgettable trip to China.
There are some opportunities you simply don't say no to.
At the end of September 2026, I had the chance to travel to Beijing for a short tour with LYS, a band I played with for several years when I was younger.
Years had passed since we had last shared this kind of adventure together. In the meantime, life had taken each of us in different directions. And somehow, all these years later, we found ourselves rehearsing together again in Rennes — this time with China on the horizon.
The main reason for the trip was the 4th Beijing International Canal Arts Fest, held from September 24 to 27 along the Grand Canal in Tongzhou. The festival brought together artists from 13 countries, with music, dance and performances taking place throughout the weekend.
LYS was invited by Miro China to represent France.
And somehow, I was going back on tour with them.
Before Beijing: Back in the rehearsal room
Before the long journey east, there were two days of rehearsals in Rennes.
Two days to get the songs back into our fingers, find our reflexes again and prepare a set we were about to play on the other side of the world.
There was already something slightly surreal about it.
After our final rehearsal, François — our sound engineer for the tour — took us out on his boat for a trip along the Vilaine.
A quiet moment before what was about to become a very intense few days.
The next morning, it was time to leave.
Days 1 & 2: The longest day, Part I
Rennes. Paris Charles de Gaulle. Beijing.
And somewhere in between, about ten hours aboard an Air China flight and what could generously be described as "sleep".
We landed in Beijing the following day at around 1pm local time.
Waiting for us at the airport was Maggy, who immediately welcomed us with an incredible kindness that would become something of a recurring theme throughout the trip.
A shuttle took us to the Moon River Puyue Hotel, our home for the next few days.
The hotel was incredible.
But at that point, honestly, the bed was even more incredible.
A quick nap later, we headed to the festival site for the first time.
And that was when things suddenly became real.
The stage was huge.
In front of it stretched an enormous park, with the Beijing skyline and its skyscrapers rising in the distance.
We stood there looking at the place where we would be playing two days later.
I think that was the first moment when we all thought: OK. This is going to be something.
That evening, Brendan, our drummer, François, Cécile, our bass player, and I decided to go looking for somewhere local to eat while Nico stayed at the hotel to recover.
And that's how we met…Pow!
To be completely honest, I have absolutely no idea what the restaurant was actually called.
We never managed to work it out.
But the chef's name was Pow, so as far as we were concerned, we were eating at Pow's.
The language barrier in Beijing is very real, and ordering dinner quickly became an adventure in itself. After a combination of translation apps, pointing, miming and a lot of laughter, food finally started arriving.
And it was delicious.
By the end of dinner, we'd already decided one thing: before leaving Beijing, we were coming back!
Then it was finally time for some proper sleep.
Because the next day, we had our first concert in China.
Day 3: First show in Beijing
After an excellent breakfast at the hotel, we met Jackie Zhang, co-founder of Miro China and one of the people behind our invitation to the festival.
He walked us through the weekend ahead before we jumped into a taxi and headed towards central Beijing.
Destination: DDC Club.
Our first show.
After soundcheck, we met up with Gildas, a longtime friend of Nico's who now lives in Beijing and works at the French Embassy.
He took the five of us to a restaurant nearby.
And what followed was basically a crash course in Chinese food.
Dish after dish arrived at the table, including the famous Peking duck.
Absolutely incredible.
Then it was back to DDC.
The German band MACSAT, who were also part of the Canal Arts Fest lineup, were opening the evening. They were great, by the way!
And then it was our turn.
Our first concert in Beijing.
The atmosphere was great from the very beginning. People were curious, enthusiastic and incredibly welcoming.
After the show, we spent a long time taking photos and talking with people from the audience.
First show done.
China was officially happening!
Day 4: The Beijing International Canal Arts Fest
A short night later — very short — the alarm went off.
Soundcheck: 9am.
We arrived at the festival site while it was still almost completely empty.
For the first time, we walked onto that enormous stage.
No audience yet. Just us, the technicians, the park and the skyscrapers in front of us.
Then the first notes came through the PA and travelled across the empty site.
It was a strange and beautiful feeling.
The local technical crew were fantastic. Not everyone spoke English, but music has its own vocabulary. A few technical words, a few gestures, and somehow everybody understands each other.
After soundcheck, we filmed an acoustic video beside the canal.
People started stopping around us.
Some watched.
Some took pictures.
More and more phones appeared.
For a few minutes, we had the slightly ridiculous feeling of being international rock stars!
We’re definitely not, but we enjoyed it anyway.
We then explored Yuelianghe Town, an incredibly colorful part of the area, had another great lunch and headed back to the hotel for a much-needed nap.
Because this time, when we returned to the festival site, everything had changed.
The park was full.
The audience was there.
And suddenly the excitement started turning into pressure.
We were closing the festival at 6:30pm.
Closing a festival comes with a certain amount of expectation. It’s the final show, the last impression — the one the organizers and the audience are counting on to end the weekend on a high.
So yeah, there was a little pressure.
And we really wanted to deliver.
6:29pm: One last hug between us.
A few words.
One minute to go.
6:30pm: Let's go!!!
For the next hour, everything happened incredibly fast.
Thousands of people in front of us. Somewhere around five or six thousand from where we were standing, stretching far into the park.
An enormous stage.
A huge sound.
And the five of us giving absolutely everything we had.
For one hour, nothing else existed.
And then suddenly...
It was over.
That's the strange thing about moments you've been waiting for. They sometimes disappear almost as soon as they begin.
Walking off that stage, I already knew I had just experienced something I would remember for the rest of my life.
Then came another surprise.
People rushed towards us for photos.
One after another.
And another.
And another!
Everyone was incredibly warm and enthusiastic.
Those few minutes after the concert became almost as memorable as the show itself.
We just stood there taking it all in.
Later that evening, things finally began to slow down.
We went for dinner together with Gildas, who had taken some amazing photos during the show, and with Sunny and Stan, who had spent the day helping us as interpreters.
Inviting them for dinner was the least we could do after their kindness and patience with us all day.
Back at the hotel, we met up with our German friends from MACSAT, who had also come to support us during the concert.
A few drinks were obviously required.
We had just played in front of thousands of people in Beijing. We had to celebrate!
Eventually, though, sleep won.
And the following morning another adventure was waiting for us…
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!
Day 5: The Great Wall, the future... and Pow
At 8:30am, we boarded a bus towards Mutianyu. The Great Wall of China.
Even writing that sentence still feels slightly surreal.
Once there, everything had been arranged for us. We entered as guests without waiting and Maggy, whom we had first met at the airport, was now our guide.
She took us up the mountain and onto the Wall.
Of course, there were plenty of people.
But it didn't really matter.
Standing there, surrounded by mountains, you can feel the scale of the place and the weight of its history.
It's difficult not to be impressed.
Back on the bus, Maggy told us that according to a famous Chinese saying, anyone who reaches the Great Wall can consider themselves a hero.
The whole bus applauded.
For a few minutes, five exhausted French musicians felt extremely proud of themselves.
Then came lunch.
And when we arrived, everything was already waiting for us.
An enormous feast.
Dish after dish after dish.
At this point in the trip, I had pretty much given up trying to remember the names of everything we were eating.
I just knew it was good. Very good.
Our next stop took us somewhere completely different.
Tingyun, in the Wanli area.
Trying to describe this place is difficult.
Imagine an enormous modern complex containing apartments, offices, shops, medical services and public spaces — with an entire open-air neighbourhood built several floors above ground level.
There was even a beer dispenser in the middle of a public square.
Because apparently the future also has priorities.
Then we met Galbot.
A robot working in a bar.
It could serve drinks.
It could interact with us.
It could hold a conversation.
And for the first time that day, the future felt slightly unsettling…
A few minutes later we were visiting a museum filled with objects from China's past, inside this ultra-modern environment.
Ancient artefacts on one side.
Robots on the other.
That contrast probably sums up one of the things that fascinated me most about Beijing.
History and technology don't seem to replace one another there.
They exist side by side.
By the time we returned to the hotel, it was around 7pm.
We were exhausted. We had walked all day.
Our flight home was the following morning.
There was really only one sensible thing to do.
Go to bed.
So naturally...We went back to Pow's!
It was about a 45-minute walk from the hotel.
After already doing around 20,000 steps that day, Brendan, François, Cécile and I stopped at a 7-Eleven to grab a beer for the road.
Some fuel was definitely needed!
As we walked, we talked about everything that had happened over the previous few days.
And then something unexpected happened.
We came across some street musicians.
They looked at us.
Then looked again.
They had seen us at the festival the night before.
What followed was one of those conversations where nobody really speaks the same language, yet somehow everybody understands each other.
Photos.
Big gestures.
Laughter.
Thank-yous.
More photos.
It was simple and completely spontaneous.
One of those little moments you could never have planned.
Eventually, we reached Pow's.
He recognised us immediately. Big smile!
This time, though, we were professionals.
Translation apps ready.
We ordered exactly what we wanted.
Food everywhere.
People talking loudly.
People laughing.
Cigarette smoke in the restaurant.
Nothing designed for tourists.
Nothing polished.
Just everyday life happening around us.
We were in it!
And strangely, of everything we experienced during those few days in Beijing, that dinner remains one of my favorite memories.
There was something real about it.
Something impossible to manufacture.
We eventually headed back to the hotel and met up with Nico.
We were about to call it a night.
Our flight was in the morning.
We were exhausted.
So obviously...
We decided to take a taxi into Beijing and go to karaoke!!
Because apparently nobody in the band was capable of making sensible decisions anymore.
And I'm glad we weren't.
We ended up in one of those small private karaoke rooms that are so popular in China: giant screen, two microphones and five French people singing far too loudly.
A few minutes later, a group of locals invited us into their room — with a little help from François aka THE HOOK!
And suddenly we were all singing together.
We couldn't really understand them.
They couldn't really understand us.
Nobody cared.
We sang.
We laughed.
We communicated however we could.
And everybody had an amazing time.
Eventually we left and tried to get a taxi back.
That part didn't go quite as smoothly.
Between explaining the destination and figuring out payment, we eventually gave up and walked.
It turned out not to be that far.
Back at the hotel, there was time for one last drink together.
Then bed.
Because the next morning it was time for: The Longest Day, Part II
Day 6: Beijing to Brittany
10:30am.
Hotel checkout.
Beijing airport.
Our flight took off at 1:30pm.
Around ten hours later, we landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle.
It was 6pm in France.
Our bodies disagreed.
For us, it was midnight.
And Rennes was still four hours away.
Somewhere on the motorway, we stopped at a service station to eat.
This time, nobody talked very much.
Partly because we were exhausted.
But probably also because we were beginning to realize what had just happened.
A few days earlier, we had been rehearsing in Rennes.
Since then, we had played two concerts in Beijing, stood in front of thousands of people on the banks of the Grand Canal, walked on the Great Wall of China, eaten more incredible food than I can remember, met people without sharing a language with them, sung karaoke with complete strangers and somehow found our way back to Pow's.
And now we were sitting in a motorway service station somewhere in France.
Back to reality.
Some trips stay with you forever
I originally went to China for the music.
I came back remembering everything around it just as much.
Of course I'll remember walking onto that huge stage in Beijing.
I'll remember the crowd.
I'll remember 6:29pm, that last hug before the show, and the feeling of hearing the first notes travel across the festival.
But I'll also remember Pow.
The street musicians.
The people we met at karaoke.
Maggy welcoming us at the airport. Jackie, and his incredible kindness throughout our time in Beijing.
Sunny and Stan helping us through the festival.
Our German friends from MACSAT.
Gildas showing us another side of Beijing.
The meals.
The laughter.
The exhaustion.
And those moments when five people who had already shared so much years ago suddenly found themselves doing it all over again, except this time, on the other side of the world.
Music has given me a lot over the years.
But every now and then, it gives you something completely unexpected.
This was one of those times.
Thank you to everyone who made this adventure possible.
And thank you, Beijing. That was crazy. 直到我们再次相见。🇨🇳🇨🇳
Photo credits: Gildas · Thom Rengorf · MACSAT
