Beijing Day 1 : I Miss the Old 798
Arrived Beijing this morning.
Is now a routine that I visit this city once every 3-4 months, for different reasons, and still, on every visit, I see something totally new, or, at least well-improved. The Olyimpic city is still transforming itself even after the world event.
After visiting a few shops early on, we went to the now well-known art district 798.
This is one place I personally least of to see changed, but of course, it has, again.
What was once an artie pot-hole is now very commercialized. What was filled with trashy individual artist workshops, now are basically filled with world-class galleries. Most if not all pieces are far beyond the reach of a regular joe. If you hear an acceptable price, chances are, he meant US dollars!! I was more intrigued by this dark alley inside the district this afternoon.
Nice restaurant... this was only one of many shops in 798.
I was surprised to see so many clothing boutiques in the district this afternoon.
Hmm... I miss the old 798.
But anyways, enough low blows about the district. And by no means am I trying to knock the restaurant pictured above. This is run by Ullens Center of Contemporary Art (UCCA). The food was actually great, we had dinner there tonite. The HUGE gallery by UCCA is simply amazing. Spacous, with interesting pieces. Just look, don't ask for a quote. Beautiful.
And this current exhibition inside UCCA by Qiu Zhijie is a must-see if you happen to pass by the district. $2usd admission, well worth the money, the installions by Qiu was mind blowing. And do yourself a favor, get the small booklet up at the front counter before you walk into Qiu's huge exhibition. The whole thing will make much more sense when you look at his works. See, we did it backwards, and the feeling was a bit confusing before we read the introduction in the booklet. Just a small tip.
Is now a routine that I visit this city once every 3-4 months, for different reasons, and still, on every visit, I see something totally new, or, at least well-improved. The Olyimpic city is still transforming itself even after the world event.
After visiting a few shops early on, we went to the now well-known art district 798.
This is one place I personally least of to see changed, but of course, it has, again.
What was once an artie pot-hole is now very commercialized. What was filled with trashy individual artist workshops, now are basically filled with world-class galleries. Most if not all pieces are far beyond the reach of a regular joe. If you hear an acceptable price, chances are, he meant US dollars!! I was more intrigued by this dark alley inside the district this afternoon.
Nice restaurant... this was only one of many shops in 798.
I was surprised to see so many clothing boutiques in the district this afternoon.
Hmm... I miss the old 798.
But anyways, enough low blows about the district. And by no means am I trying to knock the restaurant pictured above. This is run by Ullens Center of Contemporary Art (UCCA). The food was actually great, we had dinner there tonite. The HUGE gallery by UCCA is simply amazing. Spacous, with interesting pieces. Just look, don't ask for a quote. Beautiful.
And this current exhibition inside UCCA by Qiu Zhijie is a must-see if you happen to pass by the district. $2usd admission, well worth the money, the installions by Qiu was mind blowing. And do yourself a favor, get the small booklet up at the front counter before you walk into Qiu's huge exhibition. The whole thing will make much more sense when you look at his works. See, we did it backwards, and the feeling was a bit confusing before we read the introduction in the booklet. Just a small tip.
posted by adFunture at
9:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home