A Beijing punk band gets the crowd screaming. [Photo by John Lake/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"But on the more populist level a lot of punk music [in China] is just giving voice to a rising middle class adolescent audience that wants to express some form of rebellion," he says.

Up the Punks interpreter Xu Xiaoliang admits he knew nothing about punk music himself when he was called into the project.

Xu says shoppers at the mall are very curious about the project and constantly ask what the meaning behind it is.

"That's all they ask, what's it all about, some even ask what punk is. 'Is it a hair cut shop?' they ask," says Xu, laughing.

The exhibition will run on the weekends until November 23. As well as showcasing the local Beijing punk music scene each week, Lake also has on display an archive of photos from the New Zealand punk scene – a collection of photos spanning more than a decade.