China’s underground music scene did not hold still this past year. Some venues closed, moved, and reopened elsewhere—ALL, System, and Elevator among them — and the radio landscape churn rate was even faster. With no government support to fall back on, every station and collective had to invent its own way to survive: some broadcasting from ten-square-meter rooms, others hosting nomad-style parties.
As Chinese cultural soft power went global last year, things started flowing the other way: more and more foreign talent began showing up in domestic radio sessions, bringing with them new genres and new ways of performing.
The result is a community radio landscape that is more geographically spread, more sonically diverse, and more internationally connected than it has ever been before—and one that, until now, had never been mapped in its full glory.
Our full guide follows 27 stations across 10 cities within the Chinese Mainland—plus a handful that exist only online—with a bar for inclusion that kept things honest. No legacy credit nor goodwill entries. If the signal is live and streaming, contributing to the scene, it’s in here. As a primer, check out a few highlights from the guide below.
In Shanghai, byyb.radio broadcasts from a street-corner booth at 115 Changle Road—a few square meters of sidewalk that have quietly become one of the city’s most public-facing and influential underground institutions. SNS radio grew out of SPOKE, a community coffee shop on Huashan Road, operating on a humble and simple rhythm: caffeine by day, transmissions by night.
In Shenzhen, FAR Radio (FAR發) is tied to OIL Club—the city’s underground anchor—and has stacked over 300 episodes on NetEase and Bilibili while preparing for a relaunch.
In Guangzhou, 8square.radio rebuilt an eight-square-meter convenience store alley into a radio booth and bar counter, broadcasting to the world.
Check out the full guide below: 27 stations, 10 cities, and one complete snapshot of who’s keeping China’s underground on air and alive.
Cover image via Xiaohongshu.
