These Experimental Labels Seek New Musical Forms in Beijing and ShanghaiWu Shanmin On paper, Beijing and Shanghai are almost polar opposites. Beijing, with its dusty alleys and dynastic past, is home to emperors, bureaucrats, and artists. Shanghai is bigger, richer, and newer, a swinging port city with a futuristic skyline that went up virtually overnight. Yan Jun, a pioneer of experimental music in China, summarized the differences memorably in a 2014 Wire essay: “Be
