Amir&Jeff’s Excellent China Adventure Series. 2025: Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Shaanxi Provinces’ Red Tour. Short videos, captioned photos, articles and commentary. The REAL Chinese people you don’t know!

https://radiosinoland.com/2025/07/27/amirjeffs-excellent-china-adventure-series-2025-hunan-jiangxi-fujian-and-shaanxi-provinces-red-tour-short-videos-captioned-photos-articles-and-commentary-the-real-chinese-people-you-don/

Commentary about trendy, artsy districts and life among the Chinese

Westerners have the impression that the Chinese are stodgy and lack creativity. Yet, there is more cutting edge architecture and development going on in Sinoland than the ossified West (https://radiosinoland.com/2017/10/25/how-can-western-capitalism-beat-this-thats-the-rub-it-cant-china-rising-radio-sinoland-171022/).

1st-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai got the ball rolling to create trendy, artsy areas, where, other than the signage, you would not know you were in China. When we lived in Beijing 1990-1997 and 2010-2016, we would go to “798 Art District” regularly (http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/15/western-art-is-barking-at-china/). 798 was the name of the former industrial zone, harking back to the Mao Era.

All the buildings, warehouses and offices are turned into art galleries, eateries, cafés, tea houses, tourist shops, Parisian style mini-cinemas and small performance stages. Modern statues and sculptures are tastefully arranged along the old factory streets, with the walls and postwar machinery all decked out in pace-setting, brightly colored paint.

I also enjoy visiting and writing about a huge graffiti park, with spectacular and large wall murals that would make you think you were in a Los Angeles barrio (https://radiosinoland.com/2019/02/25/the-amazing-1-5-kilometer-long-wall-of-outdoor-art-and-graffiti-in-shenzhen-china-rising-radio-sinoland-190225/).

In Shenzhen, there is super-trendy OCAT/The Loft. Same playbook and very avant garde. I wrote a great piece about a temporary art exhibition that hung around, until the next eye popping collection is launched (https://radiosinoland.com/2016/04/18/the-southern-chinese-art-scene-with-revolutionary-socialist-characteristics-16-4-18/). Some are better than others, but they are always thought provoking and entertaining. When I am in Shenzhen, I always try to go to OCAT/The Loft see what the latest action is.

Shanghai’s has four art districts, with M50 being the most well-known. Beijing has others too.

It didn’t take long for 2nd, 3rd and 4th-tier cities to jump on the bandwagon, since they create economic development, draw in tourists and are a nice change of pace for the locals. Hengyang is no different. Its is called Baoweili (保卫里), which means Defense District, harking back to China’s communist-socialist revolution and civil war, of which Hengyang played a critical role.

Baoweili was at one time a rail terminal, so trains are part of the theme. Enjoy Amir’s photos and my captions!

Photos by Amir

Amir presents you trendy, artsy Baoweili in Hengyang.

I second that emotion.

The Chinese do a great job of presenting park and district maps most everywhere you go.

Specialty districts will often take on an architectural theme. Best as we can tell, Baoweili is Latin American. Any ideas? 

A little cactus patch helped us narrow it down.

A trendy café. There are several.

Huge, artificial flower display in front of the Hua Cai Café.

Lots of narrow paths. No trash or garbage anywhere.

And wider lanes too. However, Baoweili is a pedestrian zone, except for locals with electric scooters.

In lower tier cities, electric scooters are a cheap and popular option to get around.

Trendy but traditional. Here is a young woman hauling buckets of water on her shoulders to irrigate a nearby flower patch, passing a souvenir shop.

Everywhere is neat, clean and well-organized.

Inside the once train yard, this is the former railroad Wash and Scrub Work Unit. Canopies on electric scooters block rain and sun.

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