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Leslie Bezotte '17

4/20/2013
China East and West; Past and Present
Final Research Paper: 798 Art District and Beijing Capital Museum

The 798 Art District

The 798 Art District is currently located in the 718 Joint Equipment
Factory that was created in 1952 and went into operation in 1957 after
costing over 145 million Yuan with over 1000 sleepless nights under the belts
of the Chinese construction workers ("798: Upgrading Factory 718"). The
factory began as a project a by Chairman Mao with the assistance of the
Soviet Union who were looking to create an electronic enterprise, expand
social order, while subsequently revitalizing a small portion of the city
(Chan). Using the help of German architects these huge factories with high
ceilings and ample floor space were created. However, this factory design
was overwhelmyly big and hard to control and was later split up into six sub
factories that were know as the 706, 718, 751, 796, and 798 factories that
were located in Beijing, Dashanzi (Huang and Cui). Towards the beginning of
the 1980's the factories began to experience a lull in production as other
factories were being built using the latest technologies and the government
stopped funding many state-owned enterprises.
The deprivation of funds eventually led to the closure of this once
magnificent factory that was responsible for the employment, housing, and

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entertainment of over 10,000 workers. Knowing the impending fate of the

factory district the factories began renting out office spaces and as a last
ditch effort to keep people in the area they turned their old office site into
high rise apartment buildings. During the same time of its closure artists
began searching for spaces that they could practice their avant-guard art
that due to disapproval of the government had to be practiced in secrecy .
Artists and cultural organizations began to rent out and develop these old
spaces into galleries, studios, and shops officially coining the name of 798
Art district that symbolized the art movement in China led by the Chinese
Vanguard, which were unchained artist who believed in alternative lifestyles
(798 District Limited). The revival of these factories and the creation of the
art movement was largely underground until the temporary relocation of the
China Central Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1995 the Central Academy of Fine Arts relocated from the city center
to the outskirts of Beijing into the 798 building of the original 718 factory
complex (Hung). The academy was temporarily renting out the factory
building while waiting for its new campus to be built, the academy's six year
stint in this location would later be referred the "Second Factory Period".
Even once the academy moved into their new campus the sculpture
department remained to continue building larger than life statues that
couldnt be built in smaller spaces (Huang and Cui). Although the academy
eventually completely moved out of the 798 space the community and

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people from around the world had taken an interest in this communal art
space, also with the help of the academy these new forms of art had gained
their acceptance from the government and artists began flowing in and
Beijing, Dashanzi became flourishing with life once again.
The new art space gained popularity quickly and caught the eye of
many investors and famous artists who believed that this is just what the
community needed; a new cultural beginning. The time of the new created
798 Art Zone was limited and was set to be dismantled and repurposed in
2003 upon the expiration of the lease. All though many artists and designers
ignored there short three year leases and continued to reinvent the space
including Xu Yong an artist and business who spent five months and over one
million yuan renovating and constructing the biggest art gallery in the zone
(Huang and Cui). Despite the popularity of this new hub the proprietors,
Seven Stars, stopped issuing leases and planned for demolition in 2005.
Artists quickly launched a campaign to stop the demolition, and with the help
of Li Xiangqun, an artist in the space, a professor at the academy, and a
representative in the congress, the municipal government protected the area
from demolition. In 2006 the 798 Art district was placed in a municipal
agenda to promote creativity, and placed a government management office
within the district to supervise activities and end the government's fear of
political challenge by the artists to their regime (Zhang).

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Areas such as the 798 Art district are a relatively new phenomena to
occur within china, moving the country from its former production based
economy to a more consumption based economy (Currier). These art centers
that are contained within old industrial parks are not uncommon throughout
most of the world, generally western societies, but are fairly new to China
due to the recognition of the importance of art in both its historical aspects
and political impacts. Concerned with Beijings morale and tourist economy
city official wanted to rebrand these old abandoned factories and create a
new identity for the capital. Piggy backing of ideas such as Floridas creative
city ideology, which promotes the need of humans to have inspirational
places to live, work, and visit thus raising citizens morale and promoting
capital (Peck). Although the 798 Art District is one of the most widely known
and effective cultural rebranding project of the 20th century it is not the first
beautification project that China has subjected itself too.
Around the time that the original 718 factory complex was being
created Chairman Mao and the Soviet forces began realizing just how
powerful these beautification projects could be. They began remodeling
places that were originally reserved for officials of high standing and royalty,
such as Tiananmen Square, into public places for the masses to collect and
spread ideas (Currier). Their motives were unlike that of cultural and
economic revitalization and the communists used these new places of

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gathering to control the population. The idea was that they could give the
people the illusion of free will and sharing of ideas while being able to control
social activist groups from gaining popularity and causing a revolt. Although
the 798 District does have to conform to some governmental regulations the
factory was developed without harsh regulations and as seen as an icon of
freedom and expression.
Today, the district is home to thousands of artists and over 400 cultural
organizations from around the world who own and contribute to the galleries,
studios, boutiques, and restaurants. What was once a place for rebel artists
to gather is now used by some of the worlds prolific and high-profile artists
and displays galleries managed by world renowned museums and has been
recognized and visited by celebrities and officials from around the world
(Roussel). The district has come along way since its humble beginning, now
about half of the factory is rented out and presents periodic festivals
throughout the year that attract people from all over to visit for three and
four weeks at a time (Yin). The district has been placed on virtually all travel
agencies sites as a top destination to visit while in Beijing and has been
described as being a city within the city preserving history and creating it.
The future of the 798 Art Zone no longer is in question as it is seen beneficial
politically, economically, and culturally however it has become some
people's concern that the district is becoming far too commercialized for new
artists to emerge.

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Beijing's Capital Museum

Beijing's Capital Museum was originally opened in 1981 at the
Confucius Temple at Gouzijian Street, which is China's second largest temple
which was built by the Yuan Dynasty in the year 1302. The original home of
the museum enjoyed 22,000 square meters of floor space, three courtyards
and an overlooking view of the Dacheng Palace (China Internet Information
Center). The Confucius Temple could be regarded as a museum all of its own
as it contained hundreds of tablets depicting great scholars of its time with
elaborate stoneware, calligraphy, and paintings throughout. The museum
resided in this historical relic for over 20 years until its new home was built in
the early 2000's.
In 1999 the Beijing Municipal Government planned for a major cultural
construction project in its "10th Five-Year Plan" which submitted a plan to
build a technologically advanced and detailed oriented building on Chang'an
Street, the First Street of China, The plan was approved by the State Council
and by the National Development Commission in 2001 (Capital Museum,
China). After four years of intensive construction the five story museum with
13 concurrent exhibitions opened in 2006 with over 1,000 people visiting on
the first day including many political committees and dignitaries from around
the world (Beijing This Month Publications). The museum is designed to tell
the story of Beijing and its important history as capital for over 2,000 years.

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Much like the museums original home, the new building was designed
to be a museum all of its own, mirroring many aspects of traditional Chinese
architecture while harmoniously integrating modern elements. The exhibits,
which are display throughout the three separate exhibition halls, contain
over 5,500 pieces of historical art that depict Beijing's rich cultural history
and other regions of China (Capital Museum, China). The museum also
features many modern technological advances including multimedia
displays, energy efficient mechanics, a restoration department, and a full
research department. It also features a ritual hall that is used for many
modern rituals and holds some of the world's most prominent art
conventions. Overall the new home of the Capital Museum captures the
essence of past, present, and future Beijing and proves to be a place that
allows for the collection of people from all around the world.

Works Cited
Beijing This Month Publications. "Capital Museum Gets Modern Look."
Www.btmbeijing.com. N.p., 1 Jan. 2006. Web.
Capital Museum, China. "Introduction to Capital Museum."
Www.capitalmuseum.org. N.p., n.d. Web.

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Chan, Tracy S. Factory 798: An Everchanging Microcosm of Contemporary

Chinese Culture. Thesis. University of Southern California, 2007. N.p.:
n.p., 2007. Print.
"China Internet Information Center. "Beijing Capital Museum." Beijing Capital
Museum. Www.china.org.cn, N.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2016." N.p., n.d. Web.
"Currier, Jennifer. "Art and Power in the New China: An Exploration of
Beijing's 798 District and Its Implications for Contemporary Urbanism."
The Town Planning Review 2008: 237. JSTOR Journals. Web. 25 Apr.
2016." N.p., n.d. Web.
Huang, Wenya, and Kaixuan Cui. 798: Inside China's Art Zone. South San
Francisco: Long River, 2010. Print.
Hung, Wu. A Story of Ruins: Presence and Absence in Chinese Art and Visual
Culture. London: Reaktion, 2012. Print.
Peck, Jamie. "Struggling with the Creative Class." International Journal of
Urban and Regional Research Int J Urban & Regional Res 29.4 (2005):
740-70. Web.

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"Roussel, Ben. "Beijing's 798 District an Unexpected Artistic Enclave." Travel

Weekly 5 Dec. 2011: 39. General OneFile. Web. 26 Apr. 2016." N.p.,
n.d. Web.
798 District Limited. "About the 798 Art District." 798district. N.p., n.d. Web.
26 Apr. 2016.
Sinopop. "798 Upgrading Factory 718." Http://www.sinopop.org/. Trans.
Lee Ambrozy. N.p., 2 May 2009. Web.
Yin, Cao. "Beijing's 798 Art District." Studio International. Studio
International, 14 Dec. 2006. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
Zhang, Yue. "Governing Art Districts: State Control and Cultural Production in
Contemporary China." The China Quarterly. Cambridge University
Press, Sept. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.