It seems apt that in a city that loves a flutter, Kap Liu took a punt and it paid off handsomely.
A long-time fan of Beijing's burgeoning pub-rock scene, Liu spent a few months last year looking for ways to lure bands down south. With little money to spend on either fees or flights, things were not looking good - until she realised that most of the bands were coming to Hong Kong for the Cure concert in July.
'We weren't having much luck until then,' she says. 'But once we found out they were all going to be here at the one time anyway, we didn't have much trouble convincing them to play. We took a gamble and thought the people here would like them - and they did.'
That's how the first Beijing Explosion was born. Featuring mainland rockers New Pants, Hedgehog and PK14, it was a stunning success as the bands played to a packed Fringe Club audience that was left hungry for more. And with interest in the Beijing music scene growing, Liu immediately started planning for her second Explosion.
'We knew this time around there would be some financial burden as the bands would not be paying for themselves,' she says. 'But people loved the first gig so much that they kept asking us when we would be having another.
'Everyone seems interested in the mainland music scene now and the bands are starting to tour all over the world. We want to make sure Hong Kong doesn't miss out.'
Having formed her own promotion company, Crazy Young Master, and being able to lean on a friendship formed at university with one of the founders of China's Modern Sky records, Liu has kept an eye on the movements of many mainland bands. She also travels to Beijing as often as she can - and across the border to Shenzhen and Guangzhou, where the bands sometimes play.