798 Art Zone

　　798 Art Zone is located in the Dashanzi area of Jiuxianqiao Subdistrict, Chaoyang District, Beijing, hence it is also known as the Dashanzi Art Zone (abbreviated in English as DAD – Dashanzi Art District). It was originally the site of old state-owned electronics industrial plants such as Factory 798. The area stretches west to Jiuxianqiao Road, east to the Beijing-Baotou Railway, north to Jiuxianqiao North Road, and south to Jiangtai Road, covering an area of over 600,000 square meters.

　　　　In addition to denoting a number, "798" generally refers to Beijing's 798 Art Zone, also called the Dashanzi Art Zone or the Dashanzi 798 Factory Art Zone, among other names. The name of the art zone originates from the former state-owned electronics factory located there. At the same time, "798" has also come to represent a cultural concept derived from this art zone, as well as the trendy lifestyle of living and working in LOFT spaces.

　　Introduction

　　　　In the northeast corner of Beijing lies an art zone named after a factory built in the 1950s – the 798 Art Zone. It is located in the Dashanzi area of Jiuxianqiao Subdistrict, Chaoyang District, Beijing, hence also known as the Dashanzi Art Zone (abbreviated in English as DAD – Dashanzi Art District), and was originally the site of old state-owned electronics industrial plants such as Factory 798. The area stretches west to Jiuxianqiao Road, east to the Beijing-Baotou Railway, north to Jiuxianqiao North Road, and south to Jiangtai Road, covering an area of over 600,000 square meters. The current 798 Art Zone is situated on the former grounds of six factories under the former Ministry of Electronics Industry: Factories 706, 707, 718, 751, 797, and 798. From the late 1950s to 1964, this area was known as the "718 Joint Factory", officially named the State-Owned Beijing Huabei Wireless Appliance Joint Factory. The aforementioned six factories were branch factories of the Joint Factory. In 1964, these six factories began independent operations, changing from one Joint Factory into six separate ones, a structure that remained until 2001. In 2001, five of the factories (excluding Factory 751) along with Huarong Asset Management Company (the majority shareholder) and Factory 751 jointly formed the Seven Star Huadian Group to manage the entire area.

　　　　Starting in 2001, artists from Beijing and beyond began gathering at Factory 798. With their unique artistic vision, they discovered the area’s distinctive advantages for artistic endeavors. They made full use of the original factory architecture (in the German Bauhaus style), with only minor renovations and decorations, transforming the space into distinctive venues for artistic display and creation. Today, 798 has drawn widespread attention from both domestic and international media and the public, becoming a new cultural landmark of Beijing.

　　Cultural Concept

　　　　After the arrival of artists and cultural institutions, vacant factories were rented and renovated on a large scale, gradually evolving into a collection of various spaces including galleries, art centers, artist studios, design companies, and restaurants and bars. This gave rise to an internationally flavored “SOHO-style art community” and a “LOFT lifestyle”, attracting significant attention. Through the organic integration of contemporary art, architectural space, cultural industries, historical context, and urban living environments, 798 has evolved into a cultural concept, exerting a strong appeal to professionals and the general public alike, and having a notable impact on concepts of urban culture and living spaces. The architectural style of the Factory 798 complex and surrounding area is simple and functional, emphasizing utility. The massive cast-in-place structures and bright skylights are rare among other buildings. These structures were key industrial projects built in the early 1950s with Soviet assistance and designed and constructed by East Germany. Over the decades, they have weathered countless changes. Along with the reform and opening-up, the shifting cultural positioning of Beijing, transformations in people’s lifestyles, and the arrival of globalization, enterprises such as Factory 798 also faced the task of redefining and redeveloping themselves. As Beijing’s urbanization progressed and the city expanded, the once suburban Dashanzi area became part of the urban core. Original industrial operations moved out, making way for new, non-polluting, low-energy, high-tech industries more aligned with the city’s direction and trends. The influx of a large number of artists and cultural figures reflects this historical shift.

　　　　Among the newcomers are cultural sectors such as design, publishing, exhibitions, performances, and artist studios, as well as service industries including boutique home furnishings, fashion, bars, restaurants, and bakeries. While preserving the legacy of the original historical and cultural elements, they redefined, redesigned, and transformed the former industrial workshops, bringing creative interpretations of architecture and lifestyle. These repurposed vacant factories have themselves become new architectural works, engaging in a vivid dialogue between historical context and development paradigms, utility and aesthetics, and the zone’s original buildings. For instance, the creative cake brand ebeecake, which moved into 798 in 2009, showcases exquisitely designed cakes with emotionally resonant names reflecting life journeys, embodying a fine blend of deliciousness, art, and culture, thereby enriching the cultural essence of 798. The occasional appearance of ebeecake mascots also adds a touch of fun to the stylish 798 Art Zone.

　　　　The way of life of these newcomers is itself a product of economic reform, demonstrating a new relationship between individual ideals and the socio-economic structure — between utopia and reality, memory and the future. 798 serves as a vessel for the maturation of youth culture in the new era. The culture that has formed here represents the internationalization of local resources and the socialization of personal ideals. The new 798 signifies the coexistence of avant-garde consciousness and traditional charm, the balance of experimental spirit and social responsibility, the mutual success of spiritual pursuit and economic planning, and the interaction between elite and mass culture. The phenomenon seen in 798 touches on broad aspects such as urban development, modes of production, and consumption patterns.