An exhibition at 798 Space gallery, July 2004. Old Maoist slogans are visible on the ceiling arches.

798 Art Zone (Chinese: 798艺术区; Hanyu Pinyin: 798 Yìshùqū), or Dashanzi Art District, is a part of Dashanzi in the Chaoyang District of Beijing that houses a thriving artist community, among 50-year old decommissioned military factory buildings of unique architectural style. It is often compared with New York's Greenwich Village or SoHo, but faces impending destruction from the forces driving Beijing's urban sprawl. Download high resolution version (1538x1166, 441 KB)An exhibition at 798 Space gallery in Beijings Dashanzi Art District. ... Download high resolution version (1538x1166, 441 KB)An exhibition at 798 Space gallery in Beijings Dashanzi Art District. ... Pinyin (拼音, Pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of... Dashanzi (大山子, Hanyu Pinyin: Dàshānzi) is a 1 square kilometer area in the Chaoyang district of Beijing, northeast of the city center. ... Beijings Chaoyang district (Simplified Chinese: 朝阳区; Hanyu Pinyin: Cháoyáng Qū) is home to a good part of Beijings diplomatic quarters, with many embassies located in the area. ... Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ;  ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practising the arts and/or demonstrating an art. ... A community usually refers to a sociological group in a large place or collections of plant or animal organisms sharing an environment. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Architectural style is a way of classifying architecture largely by morphological characteristics - in terms of form, techniques, materials, etc. ... The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (IPA pronunciation: ), also called simply the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named after Greenwich, London. ... Soho is an area of central Londons West End, in the borough of the City of Westminster. ... Urban sprawl (also: suburban sprawl) is the spreading out of a city and its suburbs over rural land at the fringe of an urban area. ...

The area is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798 although technically, Factory #798 is only one of several structures within a complex formerly known as Joint Factory 718. The buildings are located inside alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiǔxiānqiáo Lù (酒仙桥路), south of the Dàshānziqiáo flyover (大山子桥). Overpass in East Potomac Park, Washington, D.C. Flyover in Miami Beach, Florida An overpass (In UK, India, Hong Kong flyover) is a bridge, road or similar structure that crosses over another road. ...

Construction

The Dashanzi factory complex began as an extension of the "Socialist Unification Plan" of military-industrial cooperation between the Soviet Union and the newly-formed People's Republic of China. By 1951, 156 "joint factory" projects had been realized under that agreement, part of the Chinese government's first Five-Year Plan. However the People's Liberation Army still had a dire need of modern electronic components, which were produced in only two of the joint factories. The Russians were unwilling to undertake an additional project at the time, and suggested that the Chinese turn to East Germany from which much of the Soviet Union's electronics equipment was imported. So at the request of then-Premier Zhou Enlai, scientists and engineers joined the first Chinese trade delegation to East Germany in 1951, visiting a dozen factories. The project was greenlighted in early 1952 and a Chinese preparatory group was sent to East Berlin to prepare design plans. This project, which was to be the largest by East Germany in China, was then informally known as Project #157. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... This article is on the politics of Mainland China. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... GDR redirects here. ... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 – January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949 to... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ...

The architectural plans were left to the Germans, who chose a functional Bauhaus-influenced design over the more ornamental Soviet style, triggering the first of many disputes between the German and Russian consultants on the project. The plans, where form follows function, called for large indoor spaces designed to let the maximum amount of natural light into the workplace. Arch-supported sections of the ceiling would curve upwards then fall diagonally along the high slanted banks or windows; this pattern would be repeated several times in the larger rooms, giving the roof its characteristic sawtooth-like appearance. Despite Beijing's northern location, the windows were all to face north because the light from that direction would cast less shadows. Typography by Herbert Bayer above the entrance to the workshop block of the Bauhaus, Dessau, 2005. ... Form follows function is a principle associated with Modern architecture and industrial design in the 20th Century. ...

The chosen location was a 640,000 square metres area in Dashanzi, then a low-lying patch of farmland northeast of Beijing. The complex was to occupy 500,000 square metres, 370,000 of which were allocated to living quarters. It was officially named Joint Factory 718, following the Chinese government's method of naming military factories starting with the number 7. Fully funded by the Chinese side, the initial budget was enormous for the times: 9 million rubles or approximately 140 million RMB (US$17 million) at today's rates; actual costs were 147 million RMB. A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... ISO 4217 Code SUR User(s) Soviet Union Subunit 1/100 kopek (копейка) Symbol руб kopek (копейка) к Plural rublya (gen. ... ISO 4217 Code CNY User(s) Mainland of the Peoples Republic of China Inflation 1. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

Ground was broken in April 1954. Construction was marked by disagreements between the Chinese, Soviet and German experts, which led at one point to a six-month postponement of the project. The Germans' harshest critic was the Russian technology consultant in charge of Beijing's two Soviet-built electronics factories (714 and 738), who was also head consultant of the Radio Industrial Office of the Second Ministry of Machine Building Industry. The disputes generally revolved around the Germans' high but expensive quality standards for buildings and machines, which were called "over-engineering" by the Russians. Among such points of contention was the Germans' insistence, historical seismic data in hand, that the buildings be built to whistand earthquakes of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, whereas the Chinese and Russians wanted to settle for 7. Communications expert Wang Zheng, head of Communications Industry in the Chinese Ministry of National Defense and supporter the East German bid from the start, ruled in favor of the Germans for this particular factory. See also: 1953 in architecture, other events of 1954, 1955 in architecture and the architecture timeline. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998. ... The Richter magnitude test scale (or more correctly local magnitude ML scale) assigns a single number to quantify the size of an earthquake. ...

At the height of the construction effort, more than 100 East German foreign experts worked on the project. The resources of as many as 22 of their factories supplied the construction; at the same time, supply delays were caused by the Soviet Red Army's tremendous drain on East Germany's industrial production. The equipment was transported directly through the Soviet Union via the Trans-Siberian railway, and a 15-km track of railroad between Beijing Railway Station and Dongjiao Station was built especially to service the factory. US-educated scientist Dr. Luo Peilin (罗沛霖), formerly head of the preparatory group in 1951-1953, was Head Engineer of Joint Factory 718 during its construction phase. Dr. Luo, now retired in Beijing, is remembered by his former colleagues as a dedicated perfectionist whose commitment to the obstacle-strewn project was a major factor of its eventual success. Red Army flag The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that, in 1922, became the army of the Soviet Union. ... Trans-Siberian line in red; Baikal Amur Mainline in green. ... Beijing Railway Station (September 2004 image) Beijing Railway Station (Simplified and Traditional Chinese: 北京站, Hanyu Pinyin: Beijing Zhan) is Beijings first railway station, opened in the 1950s, as can be seen from its architecture (which merges traditional architecture with 50s-design). ... Perfectionism can refer to: perfectionism (philosophy) perfectionism (psychology) perfectionist movement a utopian societal movement in the late 19th, early 20th century United States from which hails Oneida Society and which is historically related to the Modern Spiritualist movement. ...

Operation

Joint Factory 718 began production in 1957, amid a grandiose opening ceremony and display of Communist brotherhood between China and East Germany, attended by high officials of both countries. The first director was Li Rui (李瑞), who had been involved in the early negotiations in Berlin. See also: 1956 in architecture, other events of 1957, 1958 in architecture and the architecture timeline. ...

The factory quickly established a reputation for itself as one of the best in China. Through its several danwei or "work units", it offered considerable social benefits to its 10,000-20,000 workers, especially considering the relative poverty of the country during such periods as the Great Leap Forward. The factory boasted, among others: A work unit or danwei is the place of employment within the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

• the best housing available to workers in Beijing, providing fully furnished rooms to whole families for less than 1/30 of the workers' income;
• diverse extracurricular activities such as social and sporting events, dancing, swimming, and training classes;
• its own athletics, soccer, basketball and volleyball teams for men and women, ranked among the best in inter-factory competitions;
• a brigade of German-made motorcycles, performing races and stunt demonstrations;
• an orchestra that played not only revolutionary hymns, but also German-influenced classical Western music;
• literary clubs and publications, and a library furnished with Chinese and foreign (German) books;
• Jiuxianqiao hospital, featuring German equipment and offering the most advanced dental facilities in China.

The factory even had its own volunteer military reserves or jinweishi (近卫师), which numbered hundreds and were equipped with large-scale weapons and anti-aircraft guns. American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ...

Workers' skills were honed by frequent personnel exchanges, internships and training in cooperation with East Germany. Different incentives kept motivation high, such as rewards systems and "model worker" distinctions. At the same time, political activities such as Maoism study workshops kept the workers in line with Communist Party of China doctrine. During the Cultural revolution, propaganda slogans for Mao Zedong Thought were painted on the ceiling arches in bright red characters (where they remain today at the latter tenants' request). This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, Cultural Revolution) was a period of social chaos and political anarchy in the Peoples... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the Great Patriotic War. ... Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought (Chinese: 毛澤東思想, pinyin: Máo Zédōng Sīxiǎng), also called Marxism-Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought or Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM), is a variant of communism derived from the teachings of Mao Zedong (1893&#8211...

Frequent VIP visits contributed to the festive atmosphere. Notable guests included Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, and Kim Il-Sung. Deng Xiaoping   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904–February 19, 1997) was a leader in the Communist Party of China (CCP). ... Jiāng Zémín (Traditional Chinese: 江澤民, Simplified Chinese: 江泽民, Hanyu Pinyin: Jiāng Zémín, Wade-Giles: Chiang Tse-min, Cantonese (Jyutping): gong1 zaak6 man4) (born August 17, 1926) was the core of the third generation of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist... This is a Chinese name; the family name is 劉 (Liu) Liu Shaoqi (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Liú Shàoqí; Wade-Giles: Liu Shao-chi) (November 24, 1898 – November 12, 1969) was a Chinese Communist leader. ... Zhu De ZhÅ« Dé (朱德, Wade-Giles: Chu Teh, zi: YùjiÄ“ 玉阶) (December 1, 1886 – July 6, 1976) was a Chinese Communist military leader and statesman. ... Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was the leader of North Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il. ...

The Joint Factory produced a wide variety of military and civilian equipment. Civilian production included acoustic equipment for Beijing's Workers' Stadium and Great Hall of the People, as well as all the loudspeakers on Tiananmen Square and Chang'an Avenue. Military components were also exported to China's Communist allies, and helped establish North Korea's wireless electronics industry. Beijing Workers Stadium Workers Stadium (Chinese: 工人体育场) is a multi-purpose stadium in Beijing, China. ... Great Hall of the People by day. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Tiananmen Square (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the large plaza near the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. ... Changan Avenue Changan Avenue is a major through route in Beijing, China. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

One of the old machine tools in front of some contemporary art in Dec 2005

After 10 years of operation, Joint Factory 718 was split into more manageable components, such as sub-Factories 706, 707, 751, 761, 797 and 798. The first Head of sub-Factory 798 (the largest) was Branch Party Secretary Fu Ke (傅克), who played a major role in recruiting skilled workers from southern China and among returned overseas Chinese. Languages various Religions Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ...

However, the factory came under pressure during Deng Xiaoping's reforms of the 1980s. Deprived of governmental support like many state-owned enterprises, it underwent a gradual decline and was eventually rendered obsolete. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, most sub-factories had ceased production, 60% of the workers had been laid off, and the remains of the management were reconstituted as a real-estate operation called "Seven-Star Huadian Science and Technology Group", charged with overseeing the industrial park and finding tenants for the abandoned buildings. Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is an enterprise, often a corporation, owned by a government. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Artistic rebirth

The Dashanzi factory complex was vacated at around the time when most of Beijing's contemporary artist community was looking for a new home. Avant-garde art being frowned upon by the government, the community had traditionally existed on the fringes of the city. From 1984 to 1993, they worked in run-down houses near the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) in northwestern Beijing, until their eviction. They had then moved to the eastern Tongxian County (now Tongzhou District), more than an hour's drive from the city center. A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ... The Imperial Gardens as they once stood The Old Summer Palace, known in China as the Gardens of Perfect Brightness (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ), and originally called the Imperial Gardens (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), was a complex of palaces and gardens 8 km (5 miles) northwest of the... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Then in 1995, Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), looking for cheap, ample workshop space away from downtown, set up in the now defunct Factory 706. The temporary move became permanent and in 2000 Sui Jianguo (隋建国), Dean of the Department of Sculpture, located his own studio in the area. The cluttered sculpture workshops have always remained open for visitors to peek at the dozens of workers milling about. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A sculpture is a three-dimensional object, which for the purposes of this article is man-made and selected for special recognition as art. ...

In 2001, Texan Robert Bernell moved his Timezone 8 Art Books bookshop and publishing office (founded in 1997) into a former factory canteen; he was the first foreigner to move in. One of Timezone 8's early employees was fashion designer Xiao Li, who along her husband, performance artist Cang Xin, helped artists secure and rent spaces in the area. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

Through word-of-mouth, artists and designers started trickling in, attracted to the vast cathedral-like spaces. Despite the lack of any conscious aesthetic in the Bauhaus-inspired style, which grounded architectural beauty in practical, industrial function, the swooping arcs and soaring chimneys had an uplifting effect on modern eyes, a sort of post-industrial chic. At the artists' requests, workers renovating the spaces preserved the prominent Maoist slogans on the arches, adding a touch of ironic "Mao kitsch" to the place. A chimney is a system for venting hot gases and smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. ... A post-industrial society is a proposed name for an economy that has undergone a specific series of changes in structure after a process of industrialization. ... “Mao” redirects here. ... Kitsch (pronounced “kich” as in “rich”) is a term of German origin that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. ...

Later that year, Mr. Tabata Yukihito from Japan's Tokyo Gallery set up Beijing Tokyo Art Projects (BTAP, 北京东京艺术工程) inside a 400-m² division of Factory 798's main area; this was the first renovated space featuring the high arched ceilings that would become synonymous with the Art District. BTAP's 2002 opening exhibition "Beijing Afloat" (curator: Feng Boyi), drew a crowd of over 1,000 people and marked the beginning of the popular infatuation with the area. A curator of a cultural heritage institution (e. ... Feng Boyi (fl. ...

In 2002, designer artist Huang Rui (黄锐) and hutong photographer Xu Yong (徐勇) set up the 798 Space gallery (时态空间) next to BTAP. With its cavernous 1200-m² floor and multiple-arched ceilings at the center of Factory 798, it was and still is the symbolic center of the whole district. (Huang and Xu since designed at least seven spaces in the area and became the prime movers and de facto spokespersons of the District.) A glass-fronted café was set up in the former office section at the back of the 798 space, opening into a back alley now lined with studios and restaurants such as Huang's own At Café, and Cang Xin's #6 Sichuan restaurant, the area's "canteen". For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... A typical street in a Bejing hutong Hutongs (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... Szechuan cuisine, Szechwan cuisine, or Sichuan cuisine (Chinese: ) is a style of Chinese cuisine originating in Sichuan Province of southwestern China which has an international reputation for being hot and numbing (麻辣), because of the common ingredient Sichuan peppercorn (花椒). Although the region Sichuan is now romanized as Sichuan, the cuisine is...

In 2003, Lu Jie (卢杰) set up the Long March Foundation, an ongoing project for artistic re-interpretation of the historical Long March, inside the 25,000 Li Cultural Transmission Center (二万五千里文化传播中心). Around that time, Singapore-owned China Art Seasons (北京季节画廊) opened for display for pan-Asian art, and was one of several new galleries setting up at that time. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Nationalist Party of China and allied warlords Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek various, eventually Mao Zedong Strength over 300,000 First Front Red Army: 86,000 (October 1934) 7,000 (October 1935) The Long March (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a massive military retreat undertaken... The Chinese units (Chinese: 市制; pinyin: ; literally market system) are the customary and traditional units of measure used in China. ...

Notable exhibitions

Several exhibitions of note took place in 2003. In March, Huang Rui and Shu Yang's "Transborder Language 2003" (curator: Li Xianting) combined poetry and performance art. "Blue Sky Exposure" was held outdoors in southern Beijing and then relocated to the Art District. On April 13, despite widespread fear of public gatherings during SARS, the exhibitions "Reconstruction 798" (798 space) and "Operation Ink Freedom" (25,000 Li Cultural Transmission Center) drew crowds of 5,000 and definitely confirmed the area's widespread appeal. Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience, a temporary presentation of art. ... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, a making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... This article is about Performance art. ... Sars may refer to any of the following: Severe acute respiratory syndrome, commonly abbreviated as SARS Michael Sars, a Norwegian biologist, father of Georg Sars Georg Sars, a Norwegian biologist, son of Michael Sars Special Administrative Regions, commonly abbreviated as SARs Sars, Perm Krai, an urban settlement in Perm Krai...

In July, with Beijing in full construction boom, Wang Wei's "Temporary Space" (curator: Philip Tinari) featured workers completely enclosing an area of the exhibition with a brick wall and then removing the bricks one by one. In September, "Left Hand - Right Hand" (curator: Feng Boyi) showcased Chinese and German sculptors at 798 Space and Daoyaolu Workshop A. Among the works was Sui Jianguo's enormous concrete sculpture "Mao's Right Hand", which is just what the name suggests, and an example of modern Chinese art's ironic reflections on history. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Feng Boyi (fl. ... Concrete being poured, raked and vibrated into place in residential construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

The first Beijing Biennale was held in September 18, 2003 at the Art District and featured 14 exhibitions. "Tui-Transfiguration" (curator: Wu Hung; tui here roughly means moult) featured photographs by East Village chronicler Rong Rong (荣荣) and his wife, Japan-born Inri (映里). Their works notably featured their own naked bodies in various strange locales, and were generally well-received despite being criticized by some as typical of the self-centered nature of much art in the area. In animals, moulting (Commonwealth English) or molting (American English) is the routine shedding off old feathers in birds, or of old skin in reptiles, or of old hairs in mammals (see also coat (dog)). In arthropods, such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans, moulting describes the shedding of its exoskeleton (which... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

The first Dashanzi International Art Festival, directed by the ever-present Huang Rui, was held from April 24 to May 23, 2004. This first edition, named Radiance and Resonance/Signals of Time (光•音 / 光阴), was beset by logistical problems arising from landowner Seven-Star Group's increasing irritation with the art community. As such, the festival became as much a public protest against the area's upcoming destruction that a showcase of art itself. shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

One of the most (in)-famous displays at the Festival was performance artist He Yunchang having himself cemented shut in a wooden box with only two pipes for ventilation, and staying there for 24 hours before being chiseled out, prompting the proverbial "Is it art?" questionings. "Shock" exhibitions have become increasingly common in the Art District (see China Daily's article "The avant-garde art goes too far?" for some extreme examples). In the most general sense of the word, cement is a binder, a substance which sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. ... Return inlet (left)Supply outlet (right). ...

Gentrification

The district's popularity has exploded since the opening of BTAP and 798 Space in 2002, with scores of galleries, lofts, publishing firms, design companies, high-end tailor shops, cafés and fancy restaurants setting up. In 2003, around 30 artists and organizations had set up studios or offices in the area, with 200 more reportedly on the waiting list to move in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. ... A loft, in the sense of the word meaning attic. ... This article is concerned with the production of books, magazines, and other literary material (whether in printed or electronic formats). ... All Saints Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica of St. ... A tailor attending to a customer in Hong Kong. ... Coffeehouse in Damascus A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant. ...

Fashionable clubs also sprang up such as Zhou Ying's "Vibes", known for its fetish nights. A former factory cafeteria became Yan Club (仁俱乐部), owned by well-known Beijing socialite and writer Li Xuebing or "Bing Bing" (冰冰), also owner of Sanlitun's Jam House. Notable performers at Yan included Morcheeba in March 2003. A fetish (from French fétiche; from Portuguese feitiço; from Latin facticius, artificial and facere, to make) is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular a man-made object that has power over others. ... Sanlitun (三里屯) is a bar street in eastern urban Beijing, China. ... Morcheeba is a British band that mixes influences from trip hop, rhythm and blues and pop. ...

In keeping with the area's "community spirit", most galleries and spaces in Dashanzi do not charge either exhibitors or visitors. Instead, they generally sustain themselves by hosting profitable fashion shows and corporate events; among others, Sony had a product launch gala at 798 space, and watch-maker Omega presented a fashion show at Yan Club. Others include Christian Dior, Royal Dutch Shell and Toyota; supermodel Cindy Crawford also made an appearance. Even Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings held an event in the district, which some found unsettling given the real-estate industry's designs on the land it sits on. Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $68. ... Omega SA is a watch company based in Biel/Bienne Switzerland and is one of the more prestigious brands in timepieces. ... Christian Dior (January 21, 1905 – October 23, 1957), was an influential French fashion designer. ... Royal Dutch Shell PLC is a multinational oil company (oil major) of British and Dutch origins. ... Toyota Motor Corporation ), or Toyota is a Japanese multinational corporation and the worlds largest automaker by sales revenue as of 2007[3]. Together with its half-owned subsidiary Daihatsu, the company was the worlds second largest auto company by revenue of $179 billion and total vehicle production, most... Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966, in Dekalb, Illinois) is an American supermodel, MTV television personality, celebrity endorser, cover girl, and actress. ... Li Ka Shing (李嘉誠 pinyin: Lǐ Jiāch ng, Jyutping: Lei5 Gaa1-sing4), is the wealthiest person in Hong Kong and East Asia. ... Cheung Kong Holdings Limited SEHK: 0001 is the flagship of the Cheung Kong Group, headquartered in Hong Kong, and one of Hong Kongs leading multi-national conglomerates. ...

As such, Dashanzi is now a center of Beijing's nascent "BoBo" (bourgeois-bohemian) community. Huang Rui and Xu Yong are good representatives of the type. And a local guru of sorts is artist/curator/architect Ai Weiwei (艾未未), whose self-designed house in Caochangdi just outside the factory complex was a trendsetter. True to BoBo style, he is an icon of consumerism as much as counterculture, working with Herzog & de Meuron on the design of the Beijing National Stadium. Bobos in Paradise is a book by David Brooks, first published in 2000. ... Guru - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Ai Weiwei (艾未未), born in 1957 in Beijing, is one of the leading artists as well as independent curators and architectural designers in China. ... Consumerist redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Allianz Arena in Munich. ... The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the birds nest, will be the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics and will be host to the Opening and Closing ceremonies. ...

In the absence of any rent control, tenants' costs have escalated. In 2000-2001, rents were 0.8 RMB per square metre per day (24 RMB or US$2.90/m²/month, or about US$0.27/sq.foot/month). They increased slighty to 30 RMB/m²/month in 2003, and then doubled to 60 RMB/m²/month (US$0.67/sq.foot/month) in 2004. Total costs can be quite high considering the average 200-400 m² area of the spaces, and the overhead of renovating and retrofitting the rooms to use modern appliances. Rent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on residential housing. ... A square foot is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 foot long. ... Renovation is the process of restoring or improving a structure. ...

Another sign of creeping gentrification is the increasing number of luxury cars parked near the galleries; local artist Zhao Bandi purchased the first Alfa Romeo convertible in Beijing. Some (but not all) of the resident artists and their patrons are quite rich compared to other occupants of the area, the remaining factory workers. Some of the workshops are still operational on a small scale, mostly doing car repair or industrial laundry. This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Alfa Romeo is an Italian automobile manufacturing company, founded as Darracq Italiana by Cavaliere Ugo Stella, an aristocrat from Milan in partnership with the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq. ...

Some local artists such as Zhang Zhaohai, a New-York trained art critic and curator, and architect Zhu Jun, a new Dashanzi resident, have criticized the Art District as being less about art and more about show. Says Zhang: "Few of the artists come to seriously practice art. Most of them just come for opportunities to exhibit and sell works or just have parties and gatherings." (China Daily) On the other hand, young artists like Zhang Yue find this atmosphere particularly condusive to establishing one's career. In the course of one summer, Dashanzi Art District's Platform China Contemporary Art Institute and Unlimited Art Gallery afforded this rising artist two well-received solo shows.

Destruction?

In the days of Joint Factory 718, Dashanzi was chosen for its peripheral position well outside the city center. The artists who later moved there were coming from the edges of the city as well. Today however, the area sits right on the strategic corridor between the Capital Airport and downtown Beijing along the Airport Expressway, considered of vital importance to the 2008 Olympic games. In the context of China's current real estate bubble, the district is highly likely to be destroyed in the near future; the western entrances of the complex are already flanked by the Jiuxian and Hongyuan luxury apartment towers. Current government projects call for the expansion of the neighbouring industrial park to turn all of Dashanzi into a high-tech development zone similar to Zhongguancun. Landowner Seven-Star Group thus hopes to re-employ some of the 10,000 laid-off workers it is still responsible for. Airport terminal architecture in Beijing Airport (July 2004 image) Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都国际机场 Pinyin: Běijīng Shǒudū Guójì Jīchǎng) is an airport in Beijing, Peoples Republic of China. ... Airport Expressway (heading towards the airport, July 2004 image) The old and the new: The Airport Expressway Toll Gate at Xiaotianzhu (August 2004 image) Old Airport Road (August 2004 image) The Airport Expressway (机场高速公路, Hanyu Pinyin: JÄ«chÇŽng Gāosù Gōnglù) is an expressway in Beijing, China, which links... (Redirected from 2008 Olympic games) The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing in the Peoples Republic of China from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony to take place at 8 PM on August... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... An economic bubble occurs when speculation in a commodity causes the price to increase, thus producing more speculation. ... An industrial park (or industrial estate in British English) is an area of land set aside for industrial development. ... Zhongguancun -- buildings and park-like landscape Zhongguancun Street -- a road through the tech hub Zhong Guan Cun (often Zhongguancun) is a technology hub in Beijing. ...

Influential members of the artist community are lobbying various government instances to persuade them to allow the old buildings to remain, as part of a cultural center which Beijing otherwise lacks and that can only grow organically. They point out that such communities are important if Beijing, and China, is to become a major source of creative design instead of mere manufacturing. (This issue has far-reaching implications in the domain of intellectual property protection in China - some experts believe that the local IP laws will start to be enforced only when China becomes a source of its own intellectual property.) It has been suggested that Interest representation: Academic overview be merged into this article or section. ... For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ...

Part of the lobbying effort is resident sculptor Li Xiangqun, professor at the Academy of Arts and Design of Tsinghua University, who was elected deputy of the 12th National People's Congress in 2004. Li presented the municipal government with a formal bill in February, requesting suspension of the destruction plans and preservation of the buildings as part of an Olympic-caliber cultural center. Tsinghua University, (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a university in Beijing, China. ... The Great Hall of the People, where the NPC convenes The National Peoples Congress (全国人民代表大会 in Pinyin: Quánguó Rénmín Dàibiǎo Dàhuì, literally Pan-Nation Congress of the Peoples Representatives), abbreviated PNCOTPR, is the highest...

Professors from architecture schools such as Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Southern Californian Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) have proposed various development plans for the area that involve preserving the buildings, although those do not appear especially profitable financially. The Southern California Institute of Architecture, founded in 1972 by Ray Kappe, is an independent institute granting undergraduate and graduate degrees in Architecture. ...

Meanwhile, attempts have been made to appeal to the developpers' sense of economics by pointing out similarities with New York's Greenwich Village and SoHo, where the high profitability of real estate is due partly to the presence of former post-industrial artists' dwellings. Those arguments have so far been ignored.

As of 2004, Seven-Star Group has frozen the rental of new spaces and prohibited all renewals. Tenants now resort to subdividing and subleasing their spaces, to which the Group has responded by attempting to forbid subleasing to cultural organizations or to foreigners, hoping to drive out the artists. Tenants, despite some of them having leases still valid for several years, have been given the ultimatum of December 31, 2005 to vacate the premises. (China Daily) 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Book references

• Huang Rui (黄锐), editor (2004). Beijing 798: Reflections on Art, Architecture and Society in China (798工厂：创造北京的新艺术街、建筑、社会). Hong Kong: Timezone 8 / Thinking Hands (现代书店艺术书屋 / 思想手设计). ISBN 988-97262-3-8.

• Zhu Yan, with contributions by Yin Jinan and Li Jiangshu (2004). 798: A Photographic Journal.. Hong Kong: Timezone 8. ISBN 988-97262-7-0.

External links

• Official Webiste of 798 Art Zone
• Art Factory 798 High quality photographs of the Dashanzi Art District
• Xiao Changyan (July 5, 2004). End of an era? China Daily.
• Tang Yuankai (June 10, 2004). 798: Beijing's Art Community. Beijing Review 47 (23).
• Xie Chen (Nov. 2003). New 798 Art Area: Life in a Loft. China Pictorial.
• Artists find new haven (April 2003). China Daily.