When it comes to the internet (and buying tickets for concerts and other events) China can sometimes feel like a parallel universe. The mainland has its own versions of social media, search engines, popular apps – and ticketing sites, which are usually only available in Chinese.
So how do you buy tickets for mainland China performances by visiting big name artists or branch out and discover Chinese indie musicians? What if you want to attend a major sporting event in China? Or a must-see exhibition?
[See more: Six apps you need to survive in mainland China]
Unfortunately, the reality is that most mainland ticketing sites have been designed only with mainland residents in mind, but here’s a look at the most common ticketing sites in China, what you need on hand to buy a ticket, and how to navigate the language barrier with more ease.
Popular Chinese ticketing sites for buying tickets
The most common ticketing sites in China are Damai (大麦网), Maoyan (猫眼) and Showstart (秀动). These sites are all exclusively in Chinese, so if you don’t have the language – or somebody to help you – you will need to enable auto-translation on your browser. If that doesn’t work, use a translating app with a camera function, such as Google Translate, to help you while you’re getting your bearings.
[See more: No more Google Translate hacks: Taobao English version launches in Macao]
Often these sites will require you to scan a QR code with your phone in order to buy tickets, so it may be more straightforward to download the relevant app. In this case, having a translating app on a different device will be very helpful.
When it comes to music specifically, some artists touring China may list their events on English sites like Bandsintown, for bands, and Resident Advisor (RA), which is exclusively used for electronic music events. However, the cities they feature will be limited to major ones. For example, at the moment RA only features Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen on its site.
What kind of events in China can we buy tickets for on these sites?
Chinese sites may come across as quite cluttered compared to Western sites, so make sure you select the city you are hoping to find events for (usually in the top left corner of the web pages) and keep an eye out for these keywords: 演唱会 (concert), 音乐节 (music festival), 话剧 (drama) , 音乐剧 (musicals) , 相声曲艺 (crosstalk and Chinese opera), 舞蹈 (dance shows), 脫口秀 (comedy shows), 展览 (exhibitions), 儿童 / 亲子 (kids / family-friendly) and 体育 (sports), which will be accompanied by corresponding visual symbols. You might also see the term “Livehouse” written in English. It’s the term for an indie gig, first made popular in Japan but now widely borrowed across East Asia.
Clicking on the characters 推荐 (recommended) on Showstart will take you to good section for finding find top picks of events in your area.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are the most common categories you can find on these sites. Keep in mind that most if not all of these shows will be conducted in Mandarin unless specified otherwise.
This is what you need to buy tickets for concerts and other events in mainland China
In order to register for an account on these sites, you will need a phone number from Macao, Hong Kong, China, or Taiwan. You also need a mainland Chinese ID. So what do you do if you don’t have the latter?
Most ticketing sites have a “real name” policy (实名制), which requires your name on the ticket to match up to your ID in order to prevent ticket touting, but there is usually only the option to fill in a Chinese ID. In some situations, there is an option for you to fill in your passport details (护照), so do check if that is possible.
[See more: K-pop shows could soon return to China]
Unfortunately, the reality is that in most cases you will have to ask a Chinese friend to buy your ticket on behalf of you. The good news, though, is that event organisers usually don’t check ID. However, always bring your ID with you to events, as that is expected of you. Some ticketing platforms may also allow a name change, so it wouldn’t hurt for your Chinese friend to ask customer service if that is possible.
Another thing you will need to buy tickets to concerts and other events in China is a Chinese bank card (like UnionPay) or an e-payment system like Alipay or WeChat Pay. In case you didn’t know, you can actually link foreign cards to Alipay and WeChat, which will likely be the most straightforward option.
In most cases, you will be able to just buy an e-ticket (电子票), however some event organisers only provide physical tickets (快递寄送), so you will need to fill in an address, pay extra and book in advance. For example, ticket deliveries for Damai to Macao, Hong Kong or Taiwan will cost an extra 40 yuan. If you are delivering it within the same city that the event is taking place at, that will be 10 yuan. If you are delivering within the same province, it costs 12 yuan, while delivering outside of the province costs 18 yuan.
