FlyByWire, a little known Australian rock band, are preparing for the biggest gig of their lives. At the opening ceremony of the China International Folk Art Festival they will play in front of 50,000 music lovers as an estimated 500 million people across the mainland watch at home.
It's a world away from the group's usual performances as a bar band in Sydney, where a big night is a sold-out show of 600 people.
They're planning on treating Chinese audiences to rock classics by AC/DC and Jet
For the band - comprising Tim McDonnell (bass player), Simon Abbott (drummer), Ben Shallis (vocalist) and Paul Davies (guitarist) - it is an unimaginable opportunity, a dream come true. (Singer Sheree Sheperdson is performing with the band for the event, which continues until Wednesday.)
For McDonnell, the festival is exceptionally portentous.
McDonnell thought he had left his life in rock'n'roll behind, taking a job in the aviation industry in Hong Kong. But fate had other plans, with a once-in-a-lifetime chance at rock stardom just over the border.
In fact, it is a miracle McDonnell was asked to perform at all. He wasn't even playing in the band the fateful evening the Chinese cultural attaché to Sydney happened to catch a FlyByWire show.
The official encouraged the band to apply for a spot in the festival and when they were chosen, McDonnell - who was a founding member of the group and, of course, already living in China - was a natural choice for the performances.