Alicia Keys, photographed as she attends a press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing, China to launch the forthcoming “Wall of Hope” concert on September 23, 2004.

Alicia was joined at the press table by musicians Nellie McKay, Cyndi Lauper, Doye Bramhall and Sylvia Tosun. 

The concert, the first ever pop music event to be staged on the Great Wall, took place on September 25 at the Wall’s Juyongguan North Gate in front of 10,000 invited guests, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the restoration of China’s Great Wall. It was also the first in a series of benefits planned for the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, produced by Steinberg Lee and Lou Enterprises.  

Proceeds from the concerts went to the China Children and Teenagers' Fund, a charitable organization. MTV Asia broadcast the event.

Alicia was the first artist officially set to perform, she was later joined by Boyz II Men, Cyndi Lauper and Nellie McKay.

Alicia sat at her piano, wearing a leather jacket in the autumn air with a hat pulled low over her face. Guests were treated to an array of hits like “If I Ain’t Got You,” “Karma,” and Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.”