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798 Art Zone in 2006

September of 2006 was my second visit to Beijing and the year that I really got to learn a bit more about China. I was attending Beijing International Book Fair and had no plan to visit 798 Art Zone a.k.a. Dashanzi Art District. But when Metra, my long-time friend and also business partner, asked me to take a few hours off from the fairground to go take a look at the 798 Art Zone I agreed immediately. I needed to take a break.

It was dead quiet when we arrived. The afternoon sun was shining still strong and few people that we could spot from the distance looked like a mirage in the desert. We entered a few galleries but left unimpressed.


In the garden, here and there, we could find artworks that seemed more interesting than those inside the galleries we had visited. And I realized right then it was the Light that made all the difference. All that I had seen that day was like black and white photographs without a hint of light. Insipid.

We entered a bookshop where Metra bought two porcelain dishes for Agatha. Then left the 789 Art Zone. It was getting dark. We were getting hungry.