Beijing & 798 Art District – March 17

Although it felt that we were there for a lot longer, we returned to Beijing from the trip to the Great Wall with half of the day ahead of us. The plan was to visit the 798 Art District and then see a Chinese acrobatic show before a dinner of Peking duck.

Beijing 798 Art District

The 798 Art District is an area that began as an industrial zone, thriving on manufacturing. Then, the factories closed down and the buildings stood empty for a while. Recently, artists and art enthusiasts have begun to take over, turning the former factories into art galleries and shops.

Beijing 798 Art District

The leitmotif of our entire trip to China is “I wish I had more time.” I would have liked to spend a couple of days in this area rather than a few hours. Someday I will return to explore on my own. I felt like I was in a cage. Oh. Wait. Maybe that was an art piece designed like a cage.

In a cage in Beijing 798 Art District

One of the first places that we visited was an old factory that was converted into an art gallery.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

The art was varied and there were some pieces that I really liked.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

The students liked these statues.

Beijing 798 Art District

They decided to create interactive art.

Imitating art in Beijing 798 Art DistrictImitating art in Beijing 798 Art District

From there we explored the area, visiting shops and enjoying the views.

Beijing 798 Art District

We visited a few shops and there were also people selling pieces they made in the streets.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

Douglas and I were attracted to this wall of “machinery” and the 3D train at one shop.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

There was graffiti everywhere.

Graffiti in Beijing 798 Art DistrictGraffiti in Beijing 798 Art DistrictGraffiti in Beijing 798 Art DistrictGraffiti in Beijing 798 Art District

Even the trees were decorated. I am not sure if the shirt in the window next to the tree is supposed to be art or not.

Beijing 798 Art District

The architecture and old industrial remnants were fascinating.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

It seemed that around every corner there was another statue or sculpture. Some of them were old school.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

Others were modern.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

These statues caught my eye, but I was a little surprised by the view from behind.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

Some of the buildings have been converted into bars or restaurants. Douglas and I really like the lighting fixture in this one.

Beijing 798 Art DistrictBeijing 798 Art District

One of my favorite activities is people watching. I am fascinated by people, and the ones in the 798 Art Zone did not disappoint me. I loved seeing how much people were able to transport on their bicycles.

Beijing 798 Art District

Everywhere we went throughout China there were brides and grooms having their pictures taken. Many of the brides were wearing white, but I liked when they wore the traditional red instead.

Beijing 798 Art District

I am not sure what this guy was filming. I suppose it was part of an advertisement for a car. Maybe we will be in it!

Beijing 798 Art District

While I love people, Douglas prefers dogs. He made one friend in the 798, but the black dogs attacked him when he tried to greet them.

Greeting a dogDogs in the 798 Art District Beijing

Once we left the 798 Art District, we headed to a theater to watch an acrobatic show. The theater was beautiful. We were not supposed to take pictures, but I snapped a few before the show began.

Chinese acrobat theater BeijingChinese acrobat theater Beijing

This is a bad picture, but it cracked me up that this guy was out there painting the stage right before the show began.

Chinese acrobat theater Beijing

The only problem with the show is that we were all jet lagged and exhausted from a busy day at the Great Wall and the 798 Art Zone. The absolute worst place to bring jet-lagged people on their first afternoon twelve hours around the globe is the theater. Most of us fell asleep for at least part of the show, but it was a good nap! The motorcycles in the cage woke me back up. There were seven of them in there!

Chinese acrobat theater Beijing

Finally, we went to dinner at Dongzhimennei Dajie, a street with a lot of restaurants and night life.

Dongzhimennei Dajie BeijingDongzhimennei Dajie BeijingDongzhimennei Dajie Beijing

The duck was my favorite meal of all, and I enjoyed most of them!

Carving the Peking duckIn a Beijing Restaurant

The students loved watching the chef carve the duck.

We were back at the hotel and in bed by nine. It was an early night after an adventurous day. I have found that the best way to chaperone teenagers is to keep them too tired to get into trouble! Check back in next Monday for another China update.

Happy Travels!

 

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
About

I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com

8 Comments on “Beijing & 798 Art District – March 17

  1. I LOVE this post! I cannot believe how much you packed into a day of travel. I’d melt into an angry puddle if I had to do so much in one day! Thanks for showing such a variety of art–it’s easy to skip over the fact that every aspect of Chinese society is moving at top speed, not just industry and commerce.

    • You’re welcome. 🙂 We were really busy, but the only thing I would have wanted to do away with that day would be the acrobatic show. I would have preferred to spend more time in the 798. The art was truly amazing.

  2. I would have had a hard time keeping up–Great Wall of China AND art district AND theater in one day! Whew!! The art district looks amazing, like a weird dream world. Love the factory galleries. So much to explore!

    • The 798 art district was the coolest. I hope to be able to return to spend more time one day… one day when I have not just returned from the Great Wall. I am sure you can appreciate why we all fell asleep in the theater!

    • Thank you! I know that the photos are not of the best quality, but the place was so interesting that I hoped that people would appreciate even bad pictures.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.