Caochangdi () was an urban village and renowned arts district located in the Chaoyang District of northeast

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

at the intersection of the

5th Ring Road Beijing's 5th Ring Road (, China Road Numbering: S50 (Beijing) is a Ring roads of Beijing, ring road encircling the city about away from the city centre. It takes the form of an expressway and is in length. Being a ring road, it has no natur ...

and Airport Expressway. Translated as "grasslands" in Mandarin, Caochangdi was home to a diverse group of residents, including migrant workers, farmers, students and artists, most notably,

Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei ( ; , IPA: ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been ...

. Caochangdi developed into a thriving arts and cultural hub when artists began to move into the area around 2000, attracting international attention similar to the nearby

798 Art Zone 798 Art Zone (), or Dashanzi Art District, is a complex of 50-year-old decommissioned People's Liberation Army, military factory buildings boasting a unique architectural style that houses a thriving artistic community in Dashanzi, Chaoyang Di ...

.Chen, Aric
"A New Frontier for Chinese Art"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', April 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2009. Demolition of the village began in July 2018.

History

Caochangdi has changed dramatically over its history. Once unoccupied grazing land used as hunting grounds by the Imperial Court, it later became an imperial grave and garden site. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, the region became an Agricultural People's Commune and transitioned into a farming village. When the Chinese economy opened up to the global market under

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

, farmers became landlords and began leasing the land to private companies, artists and galleries. In 2009, the architects Mary-Ann Ray and Robert Mangurian published a book on the village, titled ''Caochangdi, Beijing Inside Out: Farmers, Floaters, Taxi Drivers, Artists, and the International Art Mob Challenge and Remake the City''. It is a study of the village's history and architecture, and includes interviews with Caochangdi residents. For many years Caochangdi was under threat of demolition. In May 2011, after petitions by its residents and businesses, Chinese authorities officially announced the village would be spared. However, in July 2018 evictions were announced in preparation for demolition And Ai Weiwei's studio was demolished shortly thereafter. As of February 2019, many of the buildings originally slated for demolition are still standing.

Events

"Caochangdi (CCD) – The Community" was launched on September 28, 2012, as a research-driven program that hosts a series of art, design and technology events throughout Caochangdi. Consisting of gallery exhibitions, public art installations, live events, educational programs, workshops and seminars, CCD – The Community seeks to cultivate the diversity of Caochangdi through long-term curatorial projects.

Spaces in Caochangdi

258 Fake Studio
studio O
323 studio O
artMIA

Beijing Architecture Studio Enterprise (B.A.S.E.)

C-Space
*

Chambers Fine Art Chambers Fine Art is an art gallery based in New York City and Beijing that specializes in Chinese Chinese art, contemporary art. Opened in New York in 2000 by Christophe Mao. Notable Chinese artists who had their first solo show in the United St ...

Egg Art Gallery
* Galerie Urs Meile
Harks Gallery

INK studio

LI Space
* Pékin Fine Arts
Platform China

Taikang Space
* Three Shadows Photography Art Centre *

ShanghART Gallery ShanghART Gallery is founded in 1996 by Swiss gallerist Lorenz Helbling as one of the first contemporary art galleries established in China. Initially operating out of a hotel, it has since expanded to four gallery spaces, two in Shanghai, and o ...

X Gallery
* Forest Studio
Forest Studio

Notable people living in Caochangdi

(艾未未) * Enrico Ancilli * Effi Meridor * Naihan Li * Matt Hope * Li Songsong (李松松) * He Yunchang * Zhao Zhao * Diana Coca (戴安娜古柯) * Sun Liangang (孙连刚)

Book references

* Mary-Ann Ray and Robert Mangurian (2009)
''Caochangdi, Beijing Inside Out: Farmers, Floaters, Taxi Drivers, Artists, and the International Art Mob Challenge and Remake the City''
Hong Kong: Timezone 8. .

History

Events

Spaces in Caochangdi

Notable people living in Caochangdi

See also

Book references

References

External links