“MARS CONCERT 2023 (First half)”
| Time | Location | guest |
|---|---|---|
| April 7th-9th | Hangzhou Baima Lake Park | Zuo Li |
| April 30th - May 2nd | Chengdu Open Air Music Park | Zuo Li |
| May 27th-28th | Wuhan Garden Expo Park | Zuo Li |
| June 22th-24th | Changsha Malanshan Yazui Park | Zuo Li |
1. Achievements
In 2023, Hua Chenyu held a live tour around China in the style of a rock festival. The theme of this tour is to take fans to the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, and Hua even promised an all-night sunrise concert.
In the first half of the year, there were a total of 11 days of performances in four cities: Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Changsha, and each day was still divided into Matinee and Evening Show, and the ticket price had not changed. The stage was also newly constructed and was even bigger than 2021.
The stage for this tour was designed by the production team for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and was expected to be the most expensive personal concert stage in China.
The main stage was a 28m high “science fiction city” made up of giant art installations. By using mirrored single-transparent materials over a large area, the stage was completely integrated with the natural environment, and different magical effects appeared from different viewpoints and at different times. Sometimes it felt like a “mirage of the sea” and the stage has “disappeared”. At night, 10 sets of huge mobile devices could move in various directions using the cross tracks on the stage, dividing the stage into multiple spaces. Images and lighting were randomly refracted in different spaces made up of mirror surfaces, and different effects could be seen from different positions, creating an ever-changing effect.
The “Planet” stage was like a “interstellar device” of the “Martian civilization”, and the extension platform connected to the main stage penetrated the audience seats as a “Martian civilization” corridor. These spatial structures were surrounded by giant ring devices that resemble planetary orbits. According to the intention of each song, the circular orbit could create laser shows, artificial snowfall and other romantic miracles.
2. Anecdote
“Mars Food Street” in each city on the tour selected local specialties for sale. Furthermore, since the Changsha concerts happened to be held on China’s traditional Dragon Boat Festival, two types of gift sets containing Zongzi or green bean cake were on sale for a limited time.
Promotional posters for each city used the same photo, but the background featured landmark buildings of that city.
A different sentence was printed each day on the long ribbon paper that was sprayed at the end of the performance:
| Translation | Original | |
|---|---|---|
Hangzhou |
||
| Day 1 | Spring is warm and flowers are in bloom, welcome home! | 春暖花开，欢迎回家！ |
| Day 2 | The Chinese flowers are blooming, let’s go for an outing together! |
花开了，一起去郊游吧！ |
| Day 3 | Believe in Hope, Growing Toward the Sun! | 相信希望，向阳而生！ |
Chengdu |
||
| Day 1 | Landed Mars, welcome home! | 火星降临，欢迎回家！ |
| Day 2 | Fly to search for the red meteor! | 飞吧 去寻觅 红色的流星！ |
| Day 3 | After the dispersal, will you forget me! |
散场后，会不会忘了我！ |
Wuhan |
||
| Day 1 | Mars, We are Home! | 火星，我们，回家啦！ |
| Day 2 | Mars, let love grow, let us face the sun! | 火星 让爱生长 让我们向阳！ |
Changsha |
||
| Day 1 | ［Dreams］where it all begins ~♥ | ［梦］开始的地方~♥ |
| Day 2 | Let’s together find the most beautiful wishes | 我们一起 寻找到最漂亮的愿望 |
| Day 3 | Mars, ten years, See you at the Bird’s Nest! |
火星，十年，鸟巢见！ |
Hangzhou Concert
A few days before Mars Concert 2021, Covid-19 suddenly broke out in Zhejiang, and fans there were either prohibited from entering the park or had to watch in designated quarantine areas. Therefore, Hua Chenyu arranged the first concert of this year’s tour in Hangzhou.
It rained for 10 consecutive days in Hangzhou before the concert, but it happened to clear up during the three days of the concerts. The lawn, which cost tens of millions of yuan to install, turned into a quagmire due to the rain, but temporary vinyl boards were erected and shoe covers were properly distributed, and the quagmire could not stop the enthusiasm of over 100,000 fans.
The vast open space once used to set up the concert stage was named “Mars Lawn” by fans and has been registered on Baidu Maps, China’s most commonly used map website. Even though six months have passed, fans still came to the lawn from time to time to look for “Mars ruins”, such as small watermelons grown from watermelon seeds left in the ground by the Mars Food Street. Fans also hid various small souvenirs on the lawn so that fans who visit later can enjoy a “treasure hunt.”
Chengdu Concert
Chengdu Open Air Music Park is the top open-air music performance venue and music-themed urban park in China. Encompassing an area of approximately 317,000 square meters, the park has the capacity to host open air concerts accommodating up to 40,000 spectators or semi-indoor concerts for 10,000 attendees.
The Evening Show was scheduled to start at 19:30, but since Chengdu is located in the midwestern part of China and it gets dark late, Hua Chenyu delayed it by more than 30 minutes to get the best visual effect of the opening.
Wuhan Concert
When rehearsing, there were heavy rains several times a day, and the weather forecast was full of rain, so the organizers and fans only took precautions against the rain. However, on the day of the concert, high temperatures of over 35 degrees hit, and many spectators became unwell. Hua Chenyu took urgent measures to prevent heatstroke, making the water sold free of charge, purchasing a lot of non-edible ice, crushing it and throwing it into various parts of the audience area, and releasing a large amount of dry ice. Hua Chenyu also announced that the start time of Matinee the next day would be postponed from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, but the repertoire would be not reduced. In other words, the only thing that would be reduced was Hua’s own rest time. That night, Hua urgently purchased multiple outdoor air-conditioning fans from other provinces, and installed them in the most densely populated infield area.
During the evening show on the first day, in the park where the venue was located, only the concert area did not rain. The previous concerts in Hangzhou and Chengdu also went against the weather forecast, and the weather suddenly cleared up only during the performances. At the evening show the next day, Hua Chenyu admitted that Mars does indeed have mysterious powers. Hua then directly responded to the anti-fans’ slander, saying that perhaps he is loved by the sun because he wrote the song “Growing Toward the Sun (向阳而生)” and that even the weather forecast can’t beat him.
The next day at Matinee, Hua said “Welcome to China” while singing “My Skateboard Shoes 2016 (我的滑板鞋2016)”, which was the first time he publicly expressed his welcome to foreign fans.
Changsha Concert
In the days leading up to the performance, it rained heavily several times almost every day. Furthermore, Hua Chenyu prayed for rain to cool off in his rehearsal vlog. As a result, all three days of performances were held in the rain. At Matinee, Hua performed under a transparent umbrella.
The show started 30 minutes early because according to Changsha city regulations, performances must end at 9:30. As a result, the sky was still very bright during the first hour, so the visual effects of the stage and lasers were significantly reduced.
The video that was played during the encore (looking back on the decade since debut and preview of the next Bird’s Nest concert) was a surprise prepared by the staff without telling Hua Chenyu. The video was narrated by He Jiong, the famous Chinese host, and the host of Hua’s debut show “Superboy 2013” ten years ago.
About an hour after the end of the final performance, Hua Chenyu suddenly started a live broadcast to reduce the “aftereffects of a concert” and chatted with fans while eating skewers. Zuo Li also joined in afterwards. They talked about stage sets, favorite costumes, and the birth of the most memorable moments in the concert.
3. Videos
Official Video
“Growing Toward the Sun (向阳而生)”
- Hangzhou Concert - April 9th
“Illusion and Reality (虚幻与现实)”
- Hangzhou Concert - April 9th
“Light Up the Bonfire at the Galaxy’s End (点燃银河尽头的篝火)”
- Chengdu Concert - May 2nd
“When the World Forgets Me (当全世界忘了我)”
- Chengdu Concert - May 2nd
“God Tree (神树)”
- Wuhan Concert - May 28th
“Madhouse (疯人院)”
- Wuhan Concert - May 27th
“Let’s Go and Watch the Sunrise (走，一起去看日出吧)”
- Changsha Concert - June 24th
“Seven Personalities (七重人格)”
- Changsha Concert - June 22nd
“Let’s Chat” (live broadcast)
4. SetLists
Hangzhou
Day 1 - April 7th
Day 2 - April 8th
Day 3 - April 9th
Chengdu
Day 1 - April 30th
| Matinee | Evening Show |
|---|---|
| Great Sage Equal To Heaven | God Tree |
| I Don’t Care | Aliens |
| Seek | Let You Go |
| Bomb Squad | Flight Mode |
| Through My Heart | Here We Are |
| Do It While You Are Still Young | Seven Personalities |
| The World is a Zoo | Searching for Myself |
| Bedside Story | I’m Here AKA I Really Want to Love This World |
| Happy Birthday to You | Madhouse |
| Sichuan Mahjong Competition | Flowers in a Small Town |
| Miles Away From Loneliness | Quasimodo’s Gift |
| Mobile game Competition “Game For Peace” |
WayfarerOriginal Singer: No Party For Cao Dong |
| Ashes from Fireworks | Black and White Artist |
| Flying Conductor | Illusion and Reality |
| Jackdaw Boy | |
| Bullfight | |
| When the World Forgets Me | |
| We Meet When Flowers Fade | |
| Let’s Go and Watch the Sunrise | |
| Growing Toward the Sun | |
| Light Up the Bonfire at the Galaxy’s End | |
| For Forever | |
| King and Beggar | |
| Why Nobody Fights | |
Day 2 - May 1st
| Matinee | Evening Show |
|---|---|
| Bomb Squad | God Tree |
| IQ250 | Aliens |
| My Skateboard Shoes 2016 | Let You Go |
| I Don’t Care | Flight Mode |
| The Return of the Master | Here We Are |
| Do It While You Are Still Young | Seven Personalities |
| The World is a Zoo | Searching for Myself |
| Immortal | I’m Here AKA I Really Want to Love This World |
| Happy Birthday to You | Madhouse |
| Sichuan Mahjong Competition | Flowers in a Small Town |
| Bedside Story | Quasimodo’s Gift |
| mobile game Competition “Game For Peace” |
Arrival |
| Ashes from Fireworks | Nunchucks Original Singer: Jay Chou |
| Iconic moment | Black and White Artist |
| Illusion and Reality | |
| Bullfight | |
| When the World Forgets Me | |
| We Meet When Flowers Fade | |
| Let’s Go and Watch the Sunrise | |
| Growing Toward the Sun | |
| Light Up the Bonfire at the Galaxy’s End | |
| For Forever | |
| King and Beggar | |
Day 3 - May 2nd
| Matinee | Evening Show |
|---|---|
| I Don’t Care | God Tree |
| Great Sage Equal To Heaven | Aliens |
| IQ250 | Let You Go |
| My Skateboard Shoes 2016 | Flight Mode |
| Through My Heart | Here We Are |
| Do It While You Are Still Young | Seven Personalities |
| The World is a Zoo | Searching for Myself |
| Bedside Story | I’m Here AKA I Really Want to Love This World |
| Happy Birthday to You | Madhouse |
| Sichuan Mahjong Competition | Flowers in a Small Town |
| Immortal | Quasimodo’s Gift |
| mobile game Competition “Game For Peace” |
Arrival |
| Miles Away From Loneliness | Lucky as YouOriginal Singer: Constant & Change |
| Flying Conductor | Black and White Artist |
| Iconic moment | Illusion and Reality |
| Bullfight | |
| When the World Forgets Me | |
| We Meet When Flowers Fade | |
| Growing Toward the Sun | |
| Light Up the Bonfire at the Galaxy’s End | |
| For Forever | |
| New World | |
| King and Beggar | |
| Let’s Go and Watch the Sunrise | |
Wuhan
Day 1 - May 27th
Day 2 - May 28th
Changsha
Day 1 - June 22th
| Matinee | Evening Show |
|---|---|
| Great Sage Equal To Heaven | God Tree |
| I Don’t Care | Aliens |
| Seek | Flight Mode |
| IQ250 | Here We Are |
| Bomb Squad | Seven Personalities |
| Through My Heart | Searching for Myself |
| Do It While You Are Still Young | I’m Here AKA I Really Want to Love This World |
| Immortal | Madhouse |
| Miles Away From Loneliness | Flowers in a Small Town |
Lucky as YouOriginal Singer: Constant & Change |
Quasimodo’s Gift |
| Ashes from Fireworks | WayfarerOriginal Singer: No Party For Cao Dong |
| Happy Birthday to You | Black and White Artist |
| My Skateboard Shoes 2016 | Illusion and Reality |
| Bullfight | |
| When the World Forgets Me | |
| We Meet When Flowers Fade | |
| Let’s Go and Watch the Sunrise | |
| Growing Toward the Sun | |
| Light Up the Bonfire at the Galaxy’s End | |
| For Forever | |
| King and Beggar | |