EDITOR’S_LETTER

Hatty Liu

Managing EditorT

he scene is familiar to anyone who has visited an art

museum or cultural district in a major Chinese city:

gaggles of stylishly garbed youngsters lined up in front

of modern art installations, waiting for their chance

to strike a pose for the camera. Never mind that the

name of the artwork is rarely visible in the photo and video—

often, today’s art exhibitions are not something to see, but

someplace to be seen in.

In this issue’s cover story, we discover this and other trends

shaping China’s burgeoning contemporary art culture, which is

in breakneck development despite being almost nonexistent 20

years ago. While new private museums hungry for visitors are

walking the tightrope between being trendy and educational,

artists are being invited to create works that will revitalize the

countryside, and having to balance the creative and economic

value of their work. Meanwhile, Chinese creators are joining

the global NFT craze despite its gray legal status within the

country, and the market is evolving to meet the taste of middle-

class buyers. All this adds up to a colorful palette of stories

illustrating the future of a vibrant creative scene.

Elsewhere in the issue, we hear from frontline employees in

the young field of social work as they try to make a difference

despite bureaucratic hurdles, and investigate whether

naturalized athletes can help grow China’s domestic sports

industry. We tackle overpackaging—a ubiquitous yet overlooked

problem in China’s consumer economy—and find out what

spooked China’s domestic movie market from making good

horror films, and more.

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32/2022

Co-producer:

Beijing Center for the Promotion of Chinese Overseas

协办：北京汉语国际推广中心

Started in the 1980s to tackle problems

created by urbanization, the field of social

work is set to play a big role in serving

China’s aging population. But without

autonomy from the government or access to

the most marginalized, young social workers

wonder if they can make a real difference.

当艺术不再“高冷”

Thirty years ago, most Chinese had never seen an art exhibition, but

today, even malls host private art galleries and artists share digital

works online. Yet without a museum-going culture, exhibitions struggle

to find an audience without pandering to influencers and online trends.

Meanwhile, rural villages look to art to boost their cultural prestige, and

the art market is adapting to the rise of middle-class buyers and NFTs—

all trends that we explore in this cover story on the future of art in China.

PACKAGE DEALCOVER STORYA SOCIAL CRISIS

42

过度包装，瘦身不易

Fruits in individual bags. Meters of

bubble wrap for one roll of correction

tape. Overpackaging is a persistent

annoyance in China’s growing

consumer economy, creating a trash

crisis that’s only been made worse by

e-commerce. We unpack the reasons

behind China’s love of packaging, and

the possible solutions.STATE OF THE ART做职业社工是怎样一种体验？

26

64

SAVING CHINA

While young singles bemoan the lack of

time and money to find a mate, Beijing’s

Changpuhe Park hosts a different group

of lonely hearts: retirees who’ve fulfilled

their family duties, want company and

mutual care in their old age, and hold

some surprising views on love and

relationships.TWILIGHT LOVE

48

相亲公园里的寻爱老人们

Copyright©博看网. All Rights Reserved.

4WALKING ON FIRE

The harvest is a time of thanksgiving all around rural

China, but the villagers of Zhongtuan, Fujian province,

prefer to show gratitude in a peculiar way: by

performing dangerous acrobatics of ancient origins,

such as walking barefoot on hot coals and climbing

up a ladder of swords, all of which pay tribute to

their ancestors’ hardships and leave the performers

miraculously unhurt. How do they do it? That’s a

secret the villagers will never tell.18

KALEIDOSCOPE

74

GALLERY

THE ART OF INFLUENCING

网红画家赵小黎：影响力的艺术

Hurling oil paint onto canvas with not

a hair out of place, Zhao Xiaoli has

amassed millions of online followers

with short videos of her violent

creative process. We sit down for a

frank chat with the 1990-born artist-

influencer who started a firestorm in

the industry about the definition of art.08

DRAGON’S DIGEST

THE DARK ROOM PROBLEM

陈楸帆短篇小说《黑屋问题》

One of China’s leading new sci-fi voices,

Chen Qiufan is known for writing about social

alienation in high-tech versions of the real

world. His recent short story “The Dark Room

Problem” takes a metaphysical dive into how

technology manipulates our consciousness.Boasting China’s second-longest

coastline, Fujian province makes

full use of fresh seafood in its

cuisine. O-a-tsian, a no-frills

omelet made with succulent