We’re in China (Beijing) for my first time. We’ve covered the city well and I have to say that one of the most interesting and unexpected things we’ve come across has been 798.
798 is an up and coming/already there artist community here in Beijing. Located at the site of a former industrial military factory, it’s big, spanning across several streets, alleys and buildings. We spent an entire afternoon there and only saw about a third of what the district has to offer. Remnants of the old factory buildings and metal structures remain among countless galleries, cafes and retail stores. The art, the transitional feeling of the area, the old and new buildings in the same space, it’s all just very unique and cool. The most striking exhibit we saw was God of Materialism. It was insane and disgusting, but somehow it made perfect sense. It was interesting to see a Chinese artist lashing out at materialism and over consumption in general. The scale of the art was huge; there was no mistaking the message. Other stuff we saw was tamer. I hope we make it back for round two of 798 before we leave.
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