Make a Day Out of 22 Art Street, Beijing's Other Arts District
Located close to Baiziwan Lu in Shuangjing, 22 Art Street is like 798 in miniature. It’s got cafés, boutique shops, restaurants, and, of course, art – and enough of it that you can see just about everything the area has to offer in a day.
What follows, then, is an itinerary for all that can be done in a day there.
Grab a Cup of Coffee at MurMur
Having opened quietly at the tail end of last year, MurMur brought the Shanghai-style cocktail drinking experience – with a second bar just for whiskey and other top-shelf spirits. They’ve also added some food options to the menu since opening, including a nice bit of eggs with toast and bacon for a quick breakfast.
Gaze at All Kinds of Sculptures
There’s no shortage of sculptures to be found in this art area. While the first thing most people noticed were the smiling sculptures of contemporary artist Yue Minjun outside Today Art Museum, these have since been taken down, with the featured sculpture changing regularly based on whatever exhibition is happening at the museum.
There are also pigs slobbering all over a table (a take on "The Last Supper" or a commentary on gluttony, perhaps?), stoic Chinese workers, and even a bright red caged dinosaur. The artistic environment is constantly changing too, with new graffiti popping up every month around the ‘hood.
Blow Your Mind With More Art
Today Art Museum is the art behemoth of the neighborhood. Founded in 2002, it showcases contemporary art from around the world in a number of buildings along the street, thus allowing visitors to take in different kinds of art as they move from one place to the next.
For something a little more … upside down, there’s also the Upside Down Museum on the east side of the district. Think rooms filled with furniture and appliances on ceilings, sides of buildings on the ground so you can pretend you’re falling – all that good stuff.
Explore Boutique Shops
For the more fashion-forward, there are also a number of boutique shops along the street to browse. Besides chic clothing stores, there’s also a cool little shop selling sleek backpacks and outerwear.
But after all that art and window shopping, it’s a good idea to…
Grab an Afternoon Drink
You can head back to MurMur for a good tipple – the upstairs bar is where it’s at.
If you’re looking for a few more options, there’s the Drinking Library, which is also connected to premier spirits shop Ai Whisky Shop. If beer is more your thing, then head to Plan B and be sure to try their fantastic bar fare while you’re at it – wings, grilled cheese, French dips, wings and poutine are all on the menu.
22 Art Street 二十二院街艺术区
Pingguo Community North, 32 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区百子湾路32号苹果社区北区
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Images: Uni You, Vincent R. Vinci