According to Wikipedia, Chinese Rock first started in Beijing in 1984 and mostly involved university students in small underground bars and hotels.
Since then Chinese rock has had its ups and downs and was severely hit hard by the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. But now, finally, in 2009 the Chinese rock movement seems to be rolling along pretty well. The below video was released earlier this year in February by Tripfilms and it gives us a good view of the current emerging underground rock scene in China: