Alicia Keys, Nellie McKay and Cyndi Lauper brought pop music to an ancient setting, performing for thousands of Chinese fans at the foot of the Great Wall.
Also on the bill of Saturday’s concert was Boyz II Men and vocalist Sylvia Tosun.
Keys wore a leather jacket and a hat pulled low over her face as she performed eight songs on a stage beside one of the wall’s immense gatehouses north of the Chinese capital.
“Thank you for having me at the Great Wall,” she said as fans cheered.
Organizers described the concert as the first by foreign musicians at the wall, although British disk jockey Paul Oakenfold performed there last year and later released an album of the show.
Some of the proceeds from Saturday’s concert were to go to a Chinese children’s charity, promoters said.
Despite the chilly autumn evening, Lauper performed part of her set barefoot. She descended from the stage and into the audience at one point, causing a brief flurry as Chinese police ordered spectators to sit down.
Tosun was joined by a children’s choir as she sang a traditional Chinese song, “Jasmine.”