US hometown can learn from Beijing's 798 art district

An old factory district is one of my favorite places in Beijing. The factory and warehouse buildings there, designed in the 1950s in the Bauhaus style, were abandoned and, in the mid-1990s, artists began using them for cheap studio space. By the turn of the century, the 798 Contemporary Art Zone had blossomed.

Interiors were renovated, but the iconic, industrial look remained, giving the place an edgy, genuine feel. China Daily wrote that the zone "reached a pinnacle in 2005, when the old electronic plants embraced galleries ... as well as bars, restaurants and fashion workshops".

But the 2016 article, describing the "rise and fall" of the art zone, said as investors moved in, rents went up and artists moved out. By 2016, the zone had "nothing to do with arts," at least in the same way, Pace Gallery media liaison Zhao Xiaomeng said.