798 Art Zone

I happened upon a little gem today!  

798 is an art district in the Chaoyang area of Beijing.  Back in the mid 1900s it was built to house a manufacturing project between the Soviet Union and the Chinese.  In the factories they were to make electronics.  Later in the 1900's (80-90's) the factories began getting shut down.  By the mid 90's they were practically emptied.  During this time, an artistic movement was beginning in China.  Before now, the arts were being housed in private homes near the old Summer Palace, but with the vacancy of these huge open buildings, artist got creative and moved in.  In the early 2000's the government almost demolished the site in favor of a new high-rise due to the growth and expansion of Beijing, but some artist and some high powered folks got involved and explained what good the art zone would do for the city.  At that time China was trying to appeal to more people worldwide and through some charm, they kept the art zone alive.  It is now just as vibrant as ever.  You can definitely see that it was once a factory area, but it is alive with art, creativity and exuberance around every corner.  Today while I visited, I intentionally left my camera at home, but I did have my iPhone.  So I will post a few photos from my iPhone (and I did edit a little) but mark my word, I will be back there often and with camera in hand.  In fact, in my mind I already have about 10 photos printed, matted and framed!

I'm getting better at getting shots of me! (Mom and Aunt Diane!)

The Germans designed the buildings, the Soviets hated them...Interesting stuff!

 This may be one of my favorite shots!  I just love it in black and white!!! 

 If you really know me, you know I love horror movies.  This photo to me reminds me of the first horror movie I remember seeing, the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre."  Yes, my grandmother and I watched it when I was like 5 or 6.  Man I loved that woman!  This reminds me so much of the butcher factory that Leatherface worked in.  This one is for Grandma Mink! (Love and miss you!)

Sorry, I didn't take any shots of the the actual art installations, I was too busy looking at the old factory parts...Maybe on the next trip down there I can actually get some of the "art."