Beijing is an endless cornucopia of contrasts and contradictions. Too many times, people with a few days in Beijing tend to rush through the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, straight to the Temple of Heaven to the Great Wall, missing everything in between. Beijing has literally centuries worth of history, and while you certainly cannot leave Beijing without seeing Tiananmen Square, remember that China’s modern era in Beijing with its modern collision of factories and contemporary art is fascinating to witness as well.

Modern Beijing has some distinct areas that other Chinese cities don't have, but also, notably, Beijing has always been the center of culture and arguably the initiation point of China’s trends because modern Beijing has a vibrant musical counter culture and art scene unrivaled by other Chinese cities. Essentially, 798 embodies all that is old China, mixed with a cool bohemian artistic makeover. Here you can see where China came from and where it is now; this is all reflected by truly unique galleries with Beijing’s hottest contemporary art.

The area is an astonishing makeover to what would have remained old Soviet style factory buildings from pre-Mao Era. The name 798 comes from one of the factories called # 798 in the Dashanzi area - the area was part of China and Russia’s Socialist Unification Plan that was put into place during the early 1950s. The builders used the German Bauhaus style design for the factories with amplitudes donned with high ceilings and windows facing North to let in the light thus creating a bright sun washed space. Despite their aesthetic indoor appearance, the buildings themselves are built with superior German engineering to withstand earthquakes up to 8 on the Richter scale. Even now, you can still see some of the machines that remain inside the gigantic rooms with brick walls sturdily cemented together.

After Deng Xiao Ping’s reforms during the 1980s and 90s, gradually the factories vacated and the 798 area was no exception. In 1995, the Beijing Central Academy of the Fine Arts decided to use one of the factory buildings and shortly after others followed and the area flourished as one of the country’s hottest art scenes.

Now, the area is filled with a plethora of both permanent and temporary exhibits ranging from sculpture to overwhelmingly surreal black and white photography. The exhibits are thought provoking and mostly themed around China’s current social and cultural transitions and some of them clearly ahead of their time. But 798 is not just enormous factories, there are quaint little galleries as well.

As you would expect, the area around the galleries is filled with small cafes and bars with a feel you would expect from something more European and maybe not China. You can find a delectable steak and blue cheese panini or a cappuccino to savor in the sun during the spring. But this is the changing face of China’s new era and the art directly reflects the changes that are taking place in this momentous time in China’s history. The buildings depict a China of old while the colorful graffiti depicts a modern China in transition bright with contrast and change. There is one particular warehouse next to an ironically placed Nike building that is occasionally the host of some of Beijing’s craziest electro parties with the biggest electronic music companies, Yen and Acupuncture. Every few months the warehouse is lit up with strobes and hoards of sweaty dancers from all over the world joined in rhythmic unison to a new era of music.

Not to be missed, 798 is the place to ponder the changing times in China’s capital city. You can watch the artists of new in a cultural vortex of Beijing’s new bohemian scene far from the skyscrapers and glitzy city life that is part of China’s economic boom. So after you have seen the Temple of Heaven and the hutongs, head to Chaoyang for something new and completely different that will leave you with a far different impression of China than you thought possible.

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Related Links:

After the Fall: What Contemporary Chinese Art Must Do to Survive the Crash
Has the Commercialization of 798 Saved Chinese Art?
5 Great Art Galleries at 798

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