798 Art Zone in Beijing

The area is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798 although technically, Factory #798 is only one of several structures inside the complex formerly known as 718 Joint Factory. The buildings are within alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiǔxiānqiáo Lù (酒仙桥路), south of the Dàshānziqiáo flyover (大山子桥).

English Name: 798 Art Zone
Chinese name: 798艺术区
Admission Fee: Free
Opening Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m
Recommended Visiting Time: 3 or 4 hours
Address: 4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China(中国北京朝阳区酒仙桥路4号)

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798 Art Zone

798 Art Zone (Chinese: 798艺术区; pinyin: 798 Yìshùqū), or Dashanzi Art District. The area is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798 although technically, Factory #798 is only one of several structures inside the complex formerly known as 718 Joint Factory. The buildings are within alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiǔxiānqiáo Lù (酒仙桥路), south of the Dàshānziqiáo flyover (大山子桥). The area is anchored by the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, the largest and most visited venue in the area. In recent years, it has been the main venue for the annual Beijing Queer Film Festival and Beijing Design Week.

Introduction of 798 Art Zone

History

The area occupied by the art zone was once the place for North China Wireless Joint Equipment Factory. Afterwards, the corporation moved out of the Dashanzi District and leased those plants (798 factory being one of them). The architectural style, featuring simple design and varied composition, follows the Bauhaus way. Attracted by ordered design, convenient traffic, unique style of Bauhaus architecture, many art organizations and artists came to rent the vacant plants and transformed them. Gradually there formed a district gathering galleries, art studios, cultural companies, fashion shops etc. As the area where the early art organizations and artists moved in was located in the original area of the 798 plant, this place was named 798 Art District.

Main Buildings

798 Photo Gallery
Most of the photos are developed by the owner Chen Guangjun himself. Photos exhibited here are hard to see at other places.
798 Space
It mainly provides venues for press conferences, fashion shows and other activities. One thing that must be mentioned here is that since the buildings of 798 Space follow the Bauhaus style, the roofs of the buildings are curved serrated, which is even rare to see in Germany.
Lord of Salt
This restaurant is known for its authentic Sichuan dishes. The chef comes from a little place in Sichuan Province, and his cuisine has an authentic Sichuan flavor. Spiced chicken with a wonderful taste is his specialty.
AT CAFÉ
Italian coffee is featured at this café. The owner Huang Rui believes that his coffee is much better than Starbucks’. Pizza and sandwiches are also good choices.
Long March Cultural Communication Centre
The owner is Lu Jie, a famous contemporary artist. In this centre, you can see the record of one of his early events in which he led a group of artists following the Long March route and communicating with the local artists. Folk art exhibitions here will also arouse your interest. Paper cuts done by Gao Fenglian, an old folk artist, cover all the walls.
VINCENT CAFÉ (French)
It is the best little family-style restaurant here. The French owner Vincent, who started to learn cooking and management at the age of fifteen in France, used to be the chief manager in a famous French restaurant in the city. He is good at making sweet and savory pancakes. You can choose meat and vegetable filling or ice cream and fruit filling. SHOOTER (three different alcoholic drinks mix in a small cup) is also his spectacular creation.

How to Get There

Beijing 798 Art Zone is located at No.4, Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District (北京市朝阳区酒仙桥路4号). Visitors can take city bus line 401, 402, 403, 418, 420, 405, 909, 955, 991, 988 and 445 to get there.

Useful Travel Tips

It will take more than twenty minutes to walk around the Art Zone. You can buy a map at galleries or bars, or just wander.
You can either take a taxi or bus to here. However, taxis are not allowed to drive into the zone.
When night falls, the zone is poorly lit.
The art zone provides a guide service. During the art festival, there are also volunteers to be your travel guides.
798 Art district is open for free, but some galleries and exhibition halls sell admission tickets.