798 Art District

A month or so ago when Paul and I were planning what to do while we were in China, we decided that the 798 Art District is one of the areas we should check out while we are here. After our morning ritual of people watching while having a morning coffee, we decided to set out for the 798 Art District. 

Back in the 1990's a group of up-and-coming artists in Beijing took over an abandoned electronics factory and set up shop there. Over the last few years this area has seen a rise in popularity and now boasts a large number of art galleries, restaurants, and coffee shops. 

I thought the area would less trendy than it is. It is composed of a large number of small galleries; each of the galleries is fairly quick to look through. One of the galleries contained an exhibit of contemporary Chinese art that has a mix of paintings, videos, and sculptures. One of the videos was a series of three TVs, one of which contained an empty couch, one contained a woman and one contained a man. The woman and man were each smelling themselves continuously all over. I did not stay to see the complete video since I was finding it rather disconcerting, but Paul stayed and apparently in the end the man and woman left their respective TVs and wound up in the third TV and smelled each other. I don't completely understand it, but yet in the end it is the part of the exhibit that I remember most and wound up finding it fascinating in an odd way.

Another gallery contained a series of photos of the Birdsnest from June 2007. It showed the dwellings that the people who were constructing it stayed in, and it was very interesting to see what the area around the stadium looked like before it was landscaped and made presentable for the Olympics. 

The third exhibit I remember the most was a series of photographs of various huotongs from 1989. Most of these huotongs have since been torn down to make room for more modern buildings. My only regret is that I was unable to find a book that contained the photographs as it would have been a great souvenir.

Although the galleries were interesting, I actually found the buildings much more fascinating. At one point I asked Paul "I wonder if anyone who used to work here has come back to see what the area is like now" As I wandered through the complex, I kept imagining what it would have looked like when it was a fully functional factory. I could visualize the people who worked there. 

Whether you go there for the art, or go there for the architecture, the area is definitely worth a look. No matter what your interests and tastes are, there is so much to see that there is definitely something for everyone.