The Qiaozi Artists Commune located in Huairou in the northern suburbs of Beijing. The area is rural and an hours drive from central Beijing. With Danshanzi's 798 as the central hub of Beijing's contemporary art community there are a series of satellite centers that have developed since 1995 when Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) was closed and artists moved to affordable locations such as Songzhuang, Shanguan, Caochangdi and more recently Qiaozi.

What is unique about Qiaozi is the commune cluster in a rural setting with custom built high quality studios and homes. The architecture is contemporary and the studios generous and comprehensive with capacity for major works and audio visual presentations.Artists have international exchanges that include 4A Gallery in Sydney that brings exchange artists from Australia.

The artists visited included Zeng Li Theater Studio, Shen Shaomin and Qu Yan's Art Studios. Zengli has a substantial studio and has worked with Zhang Yimou,a famous film director that includes the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening performance

It will be about one hour' drive from Beijing. Meet at the China Culture Center to board the coach.

Both visitors and expatriates are welcome to join. Registration is essential, no walk-ins.



Other contemporary Artists Villages Tours CCC arranges include: 



Songzhuang Contemporary Artists Village Tour  

(located in the rural area east of Beijing, about one hour's drive from downtown Beijing. Younger contemporary Artists' homes and studios Visits)



Shangyuan Established Artists Village Tour

(located near the mountain area north of Beijing, about one hour's drive. More academic older contemporary artists, art professors and teachers from China's Art Academies or Collages live in these area. They all have beautiful houses/studios and nice gardens)



Caochangdi Contemporary Artists Families/studios Visit



(located outside the East 5th Ring Road of Beijing, 20 minutes drive from CCC. More established contemporary artists with nice houses/studios settle down here)

Note: all the three artist villages are not completely open to public, although some young artists are willing to receive strangers. CCC has partnerships with the prestigious artists and is able to bring visitors to their homes/studios.



Feijiacun Artist District

Another artist community in the near suburb of Beijing, who seeks a quieter and affordable area for their homes and studios.



Beijing's Contemporary Artist Village Background

In 1995, when the Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace) artist community was dismantled, a handful of the original artists moved to Songzhuang Village in Tongzhou County in pursuit of bigger studio space, cheaper rent cost and a quieter environment to continue their creative works.  Over the next five years, drawn by the village’s idyllic charm and beautiful scenery, more artists decided to move into the area, thus confirming Songzhuang’s position as the largest artist community in China.  Today, Songzhuang is home to roughly 2,000 artists, including painters, sculptors, poets, writers, art critics, and photographers. They are scattered in several villages of Songzhuang, such as Xiaopu Village, Renzhuang Village, etc.

The artists are relatively young and famous for their contemporary and radical artworks. Most of them are freelancers and their artworks are shown in 798 galleries and galleries and museums in Europe and US.