An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 1, 2026 shows the Land Fingerprint Concert held in Shexiang ancient town of Dafang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)

　　GUIYANG, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- At first glance, dozens of curving terraces carved into a hillside in southwest China looked like farmland, but no crops were expected to grow there.

　　As night fell, more than 10,000 people filled the tiers, singing in the rain as music and bands of light swept across the hillside.

　　Held on Oct. 1, the first day of China's week-long National Day holiday, the open-air concert began at 7 p.m. in light rain at Shexiang Ancient Town, Dafang County, in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou-born singer Zhou Shen, a household name in China, performed alongside other musicians, drawing fans from across the country.

　　The unusual event has become a new tourism draw in a community originally built for relocated rural residents. There is no roof or enclosed auditorium, and the stage stands at the bottom of a bowl-shaped hillside. Landscaped terraces serve as seats, and the surrounding mountains and night sky form a natural backdrop.

　　Wang Lei, the concert's stage designer and chief director, said the guiding principle is to keep the design "down to earth," with the stage appearing as though it has "grown out of the earth."

　　Wang said the team has made use of an existing ornamental pool and drawn inspiration from Dafang's reputation for traditional bean products, shaping the stage like a traditional stone mill. With little elaborate decoration, the design is intended to blend into the landscape rather than compete with it.