Among 50-year-old decommissioned military factories splashed with red Maoist slogans, Beijing’s premier contemporary artists are making waves with avant-garde exhibitions. Drawn by the cathedral-like ceilings and Bauhaus-style industrialism, artists began trickling into the former weapons factories in the Chaoyang neighborhood in 2002, forming a collection of galleries and studios known as the 798 Art Zone.

Factory 798 is just one of the Soviet-designed structures that now house multimedia installations and other ambitious projects by both local and international artists. One of the largest and most impressive galleries is the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, which regularly hosts exhibitions and film screenings. Within the original 798 Space, 798 Photo is China’s first gallery dedicated solely to art photography.

Among the avant-garde artists the zone has become known for is He Yunchang, who had himself cemented into a wooden box for 24 hours before being chiseled out. Increasingly, such shock exhibitions are drawing busloads of tourists to the area, resulting in spiraling rents and a more commercial atmosphere. But the district’s explosion in popularity prevented its development into a proposed technology park, securing its future — at least for the time being — at the center of Beijing’s art world.