About 30,000 people showed up on the peak third day of the four-day festival, according to an estimate from Lu Zhongqiang, director of the 13th Month music company. However, just 13,000 tickets were sold for the entire festival, according to statistics from Chen and damai.com, the online contracted ticketing company.

How did the rest get into the International Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Park of Chengdu where the festival was held? According to people who went to the park, you could buy a ticket from a hawker for a small part of the original price, or you could bribe the security guards to take you in without buying a ticket.

The set price for a day was 298 yuan, and a four-day pass was 800 yuan, making Big Love the most expensive festival in China. Although the lineup was worth the money, Chen apparently over-estimated the purchasing power of people in Chengdu.

But still, the biggest problem was management. When you can bribe security guards to get in for a much-reduced price, even those who can afford tickets won't spend the money.

Almost all the artists who performed at Big Love had high opinions of the festival, because it provided the best sound equipment and rest camp, as well as accommodation at a five-star hotel.