Martin Garrix performs with about 100 musicians and DJs in Sanya during the ISY Music Festival in March. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Xu Zhenling, deputy mayor of Sanya, admits she often heard people complaining of feeling bored, and the lack of a high-level entertainment appeared to be an obstacle to the city's tourism development.

"Music festivals have become cultural landmarks in many places around the world," she says. "Even a small city can attract tens of thousands of visitors that way. The ISY Music Festival is a chance for Sanya to become more fashionable and catch up with the world's top-level tourist destinations."

There are great expectations for the event, even though EDM is still a relatively new music genre in China. Song Yang, founder of Mai Music, a studio dedicated to promoting EDM in China, says that over 70 percent of outdoor music festivals in Europe and North America feature EDM, while the music accounts for less than 20 percent at events in China.