VAC Festival Zhuhai Review 2026: Beats & Travel Tips

When I heard John Summit and Charlotte de Witte were on the lineup,

I just had to go! Here is my review of the highly anticipated China VAC Festival 2026.

Let's dive right in!

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Since they hold the Spring VAC Festival in Zhuhai, China every year,

this was actually my second time visiting Zhuhai.

Last time, I flew into Guangzhou and took the train over to Zhuhai,

but this time, I decided to fly into Shenzhen and out of Hong Kong!

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Mainly because it seemed like a fun route,

and honestly, the flight tickets were the absolute cheapest! Haha.

Zhuhai is super close to Hong Kong,

Macau, Guangzhou,

and even Shenzhen.

It’s honestly the perfect, most convenient location in China for hosting a festival!

Plus, the weather was wonderfully warm, making it absolutely perfect for a festival.

The Winter VAC Festival is held in China's version of Hawaii (you know, Sanya...),

which makes flights way more expensive and the journey pretty brutal.

So in every way, the easiest one to get to

is definitely the Spring Festival!

---

Since it was my second time heading to Zhuhai, I was feeling pretty confident.

Though, I have to admit, navigating from Shenzhen did make me a little nervous.

I initially thought about staying a night in Shenzhen to look around,

but then I realized I’d miss the entire Saturday lineup for the VAC Festival.

So, breaking my usual habit of only going for a single day,

I decided to commit and go for both days this time!

---

This is an inflatable travel pillow I bought on Temu...

...

...

But pumping it up felt like trying to inflate a bicycle tire manually;;;

But hey, I made it work, right?

They say Shenzhen is hosting APEC this year.

(Cool...)

I was so exhausted at Shenzhen Airport, so I bought this honey water thingy???

And then, total shocker.

They actually sell Malatang-style food right in the Chinese convenience stores!

Mind blown.

---

I originally planned on taking the train,

but a Chinese friend of mine invited me to road trip with them and their friends,

so we drove all the way from Shenzhen together!

---

Oh, right!

Here's a DiDi taxi promo...

My friend said if you scan this and add them,

you can get a discount.

But if you're reading this, you probably already have DiDi installed. 😂

It was super awkward at first, but the Chinese girls next to me were so pretty and sweet.

They kept chatting with me the whole time.

I'm an introvert, so I felt a bit bad... 好 (Hao)... 🥺

Of course, not every Chinese girl is super nice,

but the ones sitting right next to me had the best vibes!

They said they didn't even know the girl in the front seat,

but they were joking about how rude and annoying she was, haha. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

It was so funny! 😂

Also, one of the Chinese guys bought us Starbucks, so we sipped on that,

but since it was a one-hour drive, I had to ration my bladder... 🤫

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Arriving in Zhuhai from Shenzhen, China

They suggested grabbing food as soon as we got off in Zhuhai,

but I had run like Usain Bolt straight from work

to catch my flight and get here...

Naturally, my hair was unwashed, and I was completely un-showered... 🚿

I wanted to freshen up first, so I said goodbye and told them I'd see them later at the hostel! Bye-bye 👋

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My accommodation for the first night wasn't the actual Zhuhai Chimelong Hotel (the Spaceship Hotel or the Penguin Hotel, whichever it is), but a very local-style boutique hostel right next to it...

---

It was so intensely local that I was a bit taken aback at first.

But the location was fantastic! Even if you couldn't catch a taxi,

it was fully within walking distance. So convenient!

My first night's stay in Zhuhai, China,

was here. It kind of looked like the pictures... but was honestly pretty run-down.

But the value for money was absolutely insane (it was super cheap!).

The fact that it's extremely close to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom,

the Penguin Hotel, and the Zhuhai Aquarium

is definitely its biggest selling point.

Still, I wouldn't really recommend it for foreign travelers.

Mainly because it is quite run-down. 🌞

One major upside was that there were so many great local places to eat nearby.

It's structured like a big plaza, so there was a ton of street food!

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But if your budget isn't too tight, I'd highly recommend staying here instead:

Chimelong Penguin Hotel Zhuhai

or Chimelong Hengqin Bay Hotel Zhuhai

Especially

if you're visiting Zhuhai with family and kids!

!!!

Outside of the festival season,

it's much easier to book

and the prices are quite reasonable.

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(This is what we had for breakfast the next morning:

Cantonese changfen (rice noodle rolls) and some mystery noodles...)

(But honestly, the Cantonese changfen

at the hotel was definitely the best!))

Since we were just looking around and short on time, we just popped into a convenience store

and wolfed down some chocolate...

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Why does airplane food always feel like it goes straight through you, leaving you instantly empty?

Anyway, I really wanted to stuff myself with some authentic, heavy Chinese food,

but that plan was a total fail.

But on the bright side, we managed to get into the festival pretty early!

Ugh, Chinese festivals have alcohol limits,

so even if you have the cash, you can only buy a maximum of two beers.

Starting the night off with a cold one!

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We ran into the group we shared the ride with from Shenzhen earlier, along with some of their friends,

but one of the guys kept acting like he was my boyfriend, which was super annoying.

Like, who even are you?! 😭😭😭

---

(We hung out last year,

met up again in Shanghai, and even crossed paths in Phuket!)

Luckily, we ran into our friends from Guangzhou,

and a super sweet friend (who had major gay best friend vibes lol) rescued me by pulling me over to their side.

He introduced us to his friends from Hong Kong, and we all hung out together.

Day 1 was just okay,

and the lineup was honestly a bit underwhelming.

---

Ah, when I only listened to Gorgon City's tracks, I thought their style was super chill and mellow,

but seeing their live set...

they absolutely crushed it! 🔥

It was a bummer because they didn't seem as popular in China for some reason.

When it was over, the crowd heading out was absolutely insane, as expected.

This is the true power of China's population scale—

seriously, there were SO. MANY. PEOPLE.

But contrary to the usual stereotypes,

everyone respected personal space quite well,

and we exited in a super orderly fashion (maybe even more organized than in Korea?).

(Maybe it's because nobody was in a rush,

or maybe because they limited how much people could drink... haha.)

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Anyway, now it's time for the real highlight of any festival:

the after-party! Let's go!

I heard there was an official VAC afterparty on the first night!!!!

But every friend I asked had a different story ㅠㅠㅠ

Some said the afterparty was at a club called 'Night See' which was pretty far away,

while others said it was at a club right in downtown Zhuhai.

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With no way to know for sure,

I looked up 'Night See' first.

Since it looked like they had some famous DJs playing there the night before, I decided to just go and check it out.

It didn't seem like a totally official VAC afterparty,

but felt more like an unofficial, collaborative afterparty.

But the tickets for the afterparty were already completely sold out,

making it impossible to get one.

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Plus, it was over an hour and a half away from Chimelong Zhuhai Hotel—so far!

I was definitely hesitating a bit...

My friend was trying to stop me, saying, "You don't even have a ticket? And you're still going?"

But I told them I was going anyway!

I just had this feeling that once I got there,

I'd somehow find a way to get in;;;

(Talk about baseless confidence;;;; right?)

---

But seriously,

even without a ticket, I actually got into the VAC afterparty;;;;;;

Somehow I made it inside,

and the main DJ for the afterparty that night was Odd Mob!

!!!

​

But I had to wait over an hour for Odd Mob to start,

and the music before that was a bit meh ㅠㅠㅠ (it felt like a local DJ who had just graduated from DJ school...)

And since I didn't have a ticket, I didn't have an entry wristband, which made me a bit nervous.

Also, for an afterparty,

the space wasn't very big and was mostly crammed with VIP tables,

which made the vibe a bit awkward.

Anyway, once Odd Mob took over,

the music was great and his set was amazing.

---

But I still couldn't fully focus because I was constantly on edge...

And then, suddenly, the equipment malfunctioned, the music stopped, and it was total chaos.

And to top it off, Odd Mob

suddenly dropped a Psy song, which as a Korean left me feeling super... wait, what...!!!?

It was just so random.

So, I left.

I headed over to another club in Zhuhai where my friends were calling me to,

and surprisingly, it was packed and incredibly fun!

---

I'll share more about that one in another post!

Anyway, moving on to Day 2 of Zhuhai VAC~~

Spotted in literally every Chinese convenience store:

our proud Korean Buldak Ramen!

If you ever travel to China, you absolutely have to try their drinking yogurts.

They are SO delicious.

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