Looking for New Culture in Old Beijing

Filed in archive Modern World on August 15, 2007

Subculture is relatively new to China. The group of skateboarding punk rockers recently mentioned in Time Magazine's Postcard from Beijing section is a good example. As they try to adhere to their chosen lifestyle, they are limited by the place where they live.

Only a few stores in Beijing sell skateboards and BMX bikes, and the punk music scene here is concentrated around a small number of clubs that sometimes have punk concerts.

Beijing's rock music scene is young and energetic, but fits into the underground/subculture category, at least by western standards.

Some scenes are making the transition from offbeat to trendy. Dashanzi is the center of Beijing's arts. A former manufacturing and warehouse district, it is not filled with ultra hip bars and numerous art galleries. Dashanzi is definitely a place to find the modern and culturing edge in Beijing.