798 Art District (798艺术区) is a complex of 50-year-old decommissioned military factory buildings boasting a unique architectural style that houses a thriving artistic community in Dashanzi, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The Dashanzi factory complex began as an extension of the ‘Socialist Unification Plan’ of military-industrial cooperation between the Soviet Union and the newly formed People’s Republic of China. The Dashanzi factory complex was vacated at around the time when most of Beijing’s contemporary artist community was looking for a new home. In 1995, Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), looking for storage and workshop space, set up in the now defunct Factory 706. The temporary move became permanent and in 2000 Sui Jianguo, Dean of the Department of Sculpture, located his own studio in the area. y the end of 2007, it was decided that the area would continue in its current format of a special art zone. In 2009, the area has been refurbished and is thriving. 798’s abandoned factory buildings have been transformed into new museums, galleries, and cafes.

Below is a selection of photos taken during a visit to the 798 Art District on December 12, 2010 and December 12, 2013. Click on a small photo for a larger view, then select the next one with the cursor keys or the arrows on either side of the photo.