After South Korea, Haikou, a duty-free coastal hub in Hainan Province, has become the latest Asia stop for Ye’s “Vultures Listening Party.”
The controversial performer‘s choice to host his show in Haikou, a Chinese duty-free port in Hainan Province, was in part a bold move orchestrated by the local government to boost tourism and drive consumption amid a prolonged economic slowdown.
China‘s strict censorship rules require foreign artists to submit a set list of songs and lyrics before the performance; Ye’s concert was no exception to the rule. In addition, Haikou city officials received multiple official complaints about Ye’s controversial remarks.
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However, Hainan officials decided to proceed with the concert, framing it as a “historical moment, a miracle” as the city speeds up recovery from Hurricane Scorpio, which also damaged the concert stadium. The surprise performance will also help Haikou become “a performing arts hub in China,” according to the People’s Daily, a state-owned media publication.
Billed as Ye’s only China destination, around 42,000 tickets for the Sunday concert, which coincided with China’s three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, sold out within minutes.
According to ticketing platforms Damai and Maoyan, more than 96.5 percent of concertgoers were travelers, with the highest number of visitors coming from Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Chengdu.
The concert, which featured a UFO-like wheat field stage designed by the Berlin-based architecture firm Sub, was enveloped in red ambient lighting that symbolized prosperity and good luck.
Ye, who performed mostly alongside Ty Dolla $ign, also debuted a new song titled “Preacher Man.”
According to the Haikou Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the concert generated 373 million renminbi, or $52.22 million, in tourism revenue.
Overnight visitors helped drive hotel occupancy rate up by over 41 percent year-over-year and is expected to bring in more than 45 million renminbi, or $6.3 million, in hotel revenue.
In hopes of boosting tourism spending, the Haikou government not only set up help desks called “Perks for Kanye West Fans” at the airport but also worked with duty-free malls to launch discount initiatives, a move that recently ignited a shopping frenzy in Wuhan.
At CDF Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex, the world’s largest duty-free store, concertgoers could enjoy 10 to 15 percent discounts on full-priced goods across brands, receive a 2,778 renminbi or $391 voucher, and line up for free Shack Shack and drinks at the shopping mall bar. The deal lasted four days, through Tuesday.
According to the local government, duty-free sales reached 56 million renminbi, or $7.8 million, on Sunday, rising 4.5 percent year-over-year.
To further boost Hainan’s new-found “Yeconomy” opportunity, the city plans to host a second “Vultures Listening Party” on Saturday.
For Chinese netizens, the concert was also a homecoming for the American rapper, who spent a year in the city of Nanjing, when his mother Donda West was an English professor at a local university.
Ye’s every move during his Haikou trip was well-documented on Chinese social media platforms. After the concert, he was seen taking his children to a local Miniso, a budget retailer favored by China’s Gen Zers. Chinese netizens largely praised Ye for being thrifty, mirroring the preference among Chinese consumers for cheap thrills amid a slow economic recovery.
With local shoppers pulling back on spending, Haikou’s duty-free sales dropped 30 percent in the first seven months of 2024, according to official customs data.
Since this May, the third-tier city has been betting on the concert economy to boost local tourism. In an official memo published on May 30, the government said it would award organizers a maximum of 3 million renminbi, or around $422,000, for bringing in “high-quality performances” to the city.
To boost the onshore duty-free market, Hainan will establish an independent customs system in 2025, which means shoppers will be able to purchase luxury goods without paying customs duty on the tropical island.