第十八课 逛798艺术区 Lesson Eighteen: Visiting 798 Art District (1)

Gao Huiying China Plus Published: 2017-06-22 15:17:55
Comment
Share
Share this with Close
Messenger Messenger Pinterest LinkedIn

When most people think of Beijing, they might envision China's ancient sites like the Forbidden City or even the Summer Palace. But what most people don't realize is that modern Beijing has a thriving contemporary art scene with local Chinese artists. Today, we're here in 798 Art District, or Dashanzi in Chinese. It's one of Beijing's lesser known hangouts and a great place to spend a day. It's full of cafes and art galleries with both international and Chinese artists and it definitely has a totally different feel to it than the rest of Beijing.

As you can see, the area used to be an old factory ground built during the 1950s through the cooperation between China and Russia. The East Germans helped with the architecture and construction which is why you can see they reflect the German Bauhaus style. Gradually during the 1980s, the factories declined in production and the area was pretty much deserted. But in 1995, Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts moved into the area and soon others followed suit. It is the perfect place to walk around, shoot some photos, check out art and grab a coffee. Now, remember the area is pretty big so you wanna make sure you leave yourself enough time to see everything, at least a few hours. Let's go to check it out.

The area's filled with lots of small galleries from both international and Chinese artists with all different kinds of art. Take a look at this one.

Andrea: 你好。
Fang Min: 你好。
Andrea: 这是你的画廊吗?
Fang Min: 是的,也是我的工作室。 
Andrea: 你是哪里人?
Fang Min: 我是浙江人。

GRAPHIC FLASH: 这是你的画廊吗?这 this, 是 to be, 你的 your, 画廊 gallery, 吗 a particle, 这是你的画廊吗?Is this your gallery?

Andrea: 这个看起来很抽象,很奇怪,是什么?
Fang Min: 人脸上趴着一个虫子。
Andrea: 为什么呢? 
Fang Min: 因为佛教里面和尚是不能杀生的,所以他必须忍受住。
Andrea: 谁要买这些大的画呢? 
Fang Min: 一般都是国外的人买的。
Andrea: 这些画多少钱?
Fang Min: 三四万吧。


Related stories

Share this story on