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GENTRIFICATION

The district's popularity has exploded since the opening of BTAP and 798 Space in 2002, with scores of galleries, lofts, publishing firms, design companies, high-end tailor shops, and cafés and fancy restaurants setting up. In 2003, around 30 artists and organizations had set up studios or offices in the area, with 200 more reportedly on the waiting list to move in.

Fashionable clubs also sprang up such as Zhou Ying's "Vibes", known for its fetish nights. A former factory cafeteria became Yan Club ( 仁俱乐部 ), owned by well-known Beijing socialite and writer Li Xuebing or "Bing Bing" ( 冰冰 ), also owner of Sanlitun's Jam House. Notable performers at Yan included Morcheeba in March 2003.

In keeping with the area's "community spirit", most galleries and spaces in Dashanzi do not charge either exhibitors or visitors. Instead, they generally sustain themselves by hosting profitable fashion shows and corporate events; among others, Sony had a product launch gala at 798 space, and watchmaker Omega presented a fashion show at Yan Club. Others include Christian Dior, Royal Dutch Shell and Toyota; supermodel Cindy Crawford also made an appearance. Even Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings held an event in the district, which some found unsettling given the real-estate industry's designs on the land it sits on.

As such, Dashanzi is now a center of Beijing's nascent "BoBo" (bourgeois-bohemian) community. Huang Rui and Xu Yong are good representatives of the type. And a local guru of sorts is artist/curator/architect Ai Weiwei ( 艾未未 ), whose self-designed house in Caochangdi just outside the factory complex was a trend-setter. Ai was the artistic consultant for design, collaborating with the Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, for the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, also known as the "Bird's Nest". Although ignored by the Chinese media, he has voiced his anti-Olympics views. He later distanced himself from the project, saying, "I've already forgotten about it. I turn down all the demands to have photographs with it," saying it is part of a "pretend smile" of bad taste.

In the absence of any rent control, tenants' costs have escalated. In 2000–2001, rents were 0.8 RMB per square metre per day (24 RMB or US$2.90/m²/month, or about US$0.27/sq.foot/month). They increased slightly to 30 RMB/m²/month in 2003, and then doubled to 60 RMB/m²/month (US$0.67/sq.foot/month) in 2004. Total costs can be quite high considering the average 200–400 m² area of the spaces, and the overhead of renovating and retrofitting the rooms to use modern appliances.

Another sign of creeping gentrification is the increasing number of luxury cars parked near the galleries; local artist Zhao Bandi purchased the first Alfa Romeo convertible in Beijing. Some (but not all) of the resident artists and their patrons are quite rich compared to other occupants of the area, the remaining factory workers. Some of the workshops are still operational on a small scale, mostly doing car repair or industrial laundry.

A budding Harley Culture in China ....... HOGS !

Upmarket commerce sprouting in the district ...

 Something that caught the ladies' eyes  

Having a pet , usually a pedigree dog , is a symbol of affluence in China. Just stating a matter of fact ...

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