In north-east Beijing, Dashanzi is certainly China's most famous art district. Artists and galleries show contemporary art from here, and elsewhere, in this former electronic equipment factory.

The history of Dashanzi began in 1952 when Chinese officials and East German engineers launched Project 157. This new production unit which fits into the grand plan to modernize the country and to provide electronic equipment to the People's Liberation Army of China and the general population. Five years later, the 798 factory opened its doors and fulfilled its duties for nearly forty years. With the opening of the country to the market economy in 1979, the plant lost the support of the government, and gradually, ceased its production in the late 80's-early 90's.

With an area of 500,000 square meters, these vast warehouses covered with "Bauhaus" style red and grey brick and zigzagged with piping are abandoned. In 1995, the Academy of Fine Arts found Dashanzi while it was looking for wide open spaces and moderate cheap to rent and install its new quarters. After several years went by, Sui Jianguo, director of the department of sculpture at the Academy moved permanently to Dashanzi in 2000. He thus became the precursor of a large influx of artists and people from the art world.

The painters, gallery owners and the likes finally found a place conducive to the development of their community in Beijing. People like Gao Qiang and Gao Zhen, two brothers from Jinan in the eastern province of Shandong. Known for their works declining Mao Zedong in all its forms, the Gao brothers opened their studio in 2004 on the second floor of a secondary plant of the 798 factory. The paintings, photographs and sculptures are pilled along with books for sale creating a true artistic blur.

Order and Beauty 

"When we arrived, rents were very low. The atmosphere was conducive to the creation and the location was calm," they explain. For the duo, there is no question of leaving the place even though it is a victim of its own popularity. "We will stay here, it feels good. Even if rents have increased, will not move." It must be said that they now have an established reputation amongst art lovers. But also with the local authorities, who do not appreciate works that are a little too subversive. "At one point, we wanted to organize an exhibition. From the very first day, two police officers blocked access to visitors. They never gave us any explanation," they remember. 

Since that setback, the Gao brothers opened a small gallery in the main aisle of Dashanzi. They expose some of their photographs to let the general public to know more about them. Compared to their studio, the gallery seems to be only order and beauty. A coffee shop installed on the roof also offers a beautiful view of the countryside.

This is how the neighborhood changes. Renovations, steadily rising rents and diversification now make Dashanzi a place in fashion and somewhere to be, and maybe a little too much. Cafes, shops, restaurants and art dealers monopolize Dashanzi at the expense of new artists who cannot afford the luxury of moving into the area. Dashanzi is becoming bourgeois, for better or for worse and the trend seems irreversible.

Practical Information:
798 Dashanzi art district: 4 Jiushanqiao Lu, Chaoyang District. 798艺术区酒仙桥路4号朝阳区.
Gallery and studio of the Gao brothers (高氏兄弟工作室): Gao brothers Studio, 4 Jiuxianqiao Road, 798 Dashanzi art district, Chaoyang district. 798艺术区酒仙桥路4号朝阳区.

Text: Edouard Beauchemin
Photos: Wang Zhuo
April 2008