798 District - Beijing

 WELCOME TO THE 798 DISTRICT

During July 2011, I organised to backpack around Asia. Starting in Cambodia, followed by Beijing and finally Hong Kong. Arriving in Beijing on the 22nd of July I immersed myself in the culture of China. I won't lie it was a huge culture shock, even after spending 2 weeks in Cambodia.
There was one key place that was on my list of tourist destinations. That was the 798 Art District of Beijing. On the 24th of July I set out on a mission to find the district.
Armed with my hotel map (and thinking it really didn't look that far to walk.....boy was I wrong), I started walking through the streets of Beijing. Getting lost 3 times and needing to stop for water twice, as it was a 41 Degree Celsius day. I arrived at Art District, 3 and a half hours later (which on the map looked no more then 2 hours max).
Walking into the District you already feel like you are far away from the hustle and bustle of the city that is Beijing. As I observed the map, it is obvious I would need more then a day to discover the majority of the art galleries. I made my way up the tree lined walk-way, passing tourists lining up to have their portrait dawn by Cartoon sketch artist.

Walking though the district it is obvious that the majority of the art is contemporary, but never the less mind blowing. I decided to pay to go into one of the main galleries to observe the exhibition, 'Wisdom of the Poor' by Song Dong. Honestly his art was extremely thought provoking. This exhibition was used to show the life in which Song Dong had growing up, in the hutongs of Beijing. He used everyday belongings such as tables, chairs, beds, to portray how the people were able to conserve, save, recycle and share the few resources that they had.
This was a amazing exhibition to view and appeared to be one of the most popular on the day.




                                         

                                         

The 798 District is a must see for any art lover, I viewed many amazing sculptures and paintings by fantastic artists....I will say that it is best not to head out to the art district in 41 Degree Celsius heat, but if you do decide to venture out organise a taxi to the location (taking 15mins in traffic) as it is a 3 and a half hour walk outside of the Beijing CBD area (once walking down numerous streets, parks and freeways).

Below i have included a number of photos from my visit. Hope you enjoy.