798 needs better planning

Comment on "10 Years at 798 art zone" (China Daily, Oct 15)

The 798 art zone gives visitors an insight into one of China's largest and best-designed factory belts from the 1950s. The Bauhaus workshops were futuristic for their time. They are unique art spaces even today.

The atmosphere in 798 is still mostly good, and I'd love to take people visiting Beijing on a tour of the place.

But many artists have moved out of 798 because of high rent and, fortunately, they have found peace to work in other places in Beijing's suburbs such as Caochangdi, Feijiacun and Songzhuang.

The problem of high rent is important, because it is also becoming the trend in other popular areas of the city. Real estate prices are too high and increasing too rapidly to encourage investment and development in many areas, including in 798.

Another serious problem is traffic management. Too often, visitors to 798 encounter cars blasting their horns outside cafs and polluting the atmosphere. And car owners and drivers also block alleys by parking their vehicles haphazardly.

A lot more can be done to create a harmonious environment in 798. As a start, cars should be banned from driving into the art zone.

798 is one of the most interesting areas of Beijing, and with more careful management it can be developed into an even more outstanding place of interest. Let us all try to develop a truly harmonious environment for everyone to enjoy

Lao Beijing tong, on China Daily website

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(China Daily 10/23/2012 page9)