Those who live between reality and ideal life
- By Zhuang Chen
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 1, 2014
Divergent neighbors
Artists are not the only ones being affected by Songzhuang's commercialization. The tourist sector has led to a number of peasant farmers giving up the land.
Liang Guangcai is a farmer by trade. He farmed the land for more than 50 years, but not anymore. Instead, he is a small-time taxi driver who drives visitors around on his electric tricycle.
"Also, I rent out a room in my yard to a painter," said Liang, adding that increases in the cost of rent have netted him another 1,000 yuan per year.
But not everyone is happy with the influx of tourists. Tian Huizeng has been living and creating art in Songzhuan for the past seven years.
"Flocks of tourists visited my work room every day. I felt honored at first. It was as if I was a celebrity," Tian said. "But as time went by, I recognized that I could not work under these circumstances."
Noting that he had been looking forward to owning his personal studio, Tian said he was excited when the day finally came. But due to the constant disruption, he was forced to give up his beloved studio and move to Xindian village, deep in the interior of Songzhuang.
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A visitor in Songzhuang [Photo by Zhuang Chen] |
The extension of Songzhuang has also triggered a gap between the rich and the poor. The artists who were the first to move to Songzhuang have become famous in the Chinese contemporary art world, while newcomers are still struggling. In December, a sculpture entitled "Earth Generate Gold" by Fang Lijun, one of the earlier artists, sold for 28.75 million yuan (US$4.79 million) at an auction hosted by the Poly auction company in Beijing.
"Some painters cannot even afford the rent," Liang said, adding that those who cannot afford the rent move to the interior of the art district.
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