apparently, it's more than that. i expected a handful of galleries. no one explained that this was a gigantic community that just sprung up in the last few years in beijing. how i wish this had existed when i lived there 10 years ago.
these are warehouses originally built by russia/east germany in the 50s. i have some great shots of the interior with neatly stacked arcs by height and huge windows. really amazing - something i had never seen and definitely a part of beijing i never knew. these will be posted in part 2 - i just have way too many photos.
at the same time, i felt a little confused in this huge, campus-like space. i mean, the wiki even has a section on gentrification! where am i? los angeles? to me, it's almost inconceivable that i would confront this in beijing. i think part of it is the nostalgia i have for my version of old beijing, when my friends and i would buy ghetto abercrombie knock off pants on the street for $4. it was still a big, international city back then, but lately, it's beginning to lose something i can't really articulate.
the inside of one of many art galleries. (a lot of them forbid photography but oops. it happened anyway.) overall i am really glad to see such a huge contemporary art scene in china. people are finally expressing themselves.
and look - graffiti.
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