Beijing to establish a 32000 square meter metaverse art zone in Tongzhou

Beijing’s Tongzhou District announced the launch of a special project, DAGAO Metaverse Digital Art District, on April 19, in partnership with the Zhongguancun Digital Media Industry Alliance and DAGAO International Art Zone.

Once an abandoned area occupied by old industrial plants, the 32,000 square meters space was first established in 2006, serving local communities as a place for contemporary art exchange, communication, creation and exhibition. The zone now has a new purpose — becoming a meta-art district, linking digital technology and digital art, forming a metaverse-styled virtual ecosystem.

In the meta-art district, there will be a variety of establishments combined with virtual abilities, such as meta digital art building, meta office, meta collab and creation space, meta art museum, meta meeting room, meta bookstore, meta cinema, etc.

The meta-art district would also explore commercial possibilities such as live-streaming, art studios, IP incubation and investment. A series of metaverse related lectures and exhibitions is also expected to take place in the newfound district.

Establishing the meta-art district resonates with Tongzhou District’s recent regulatory proposal. In January 2022, Tongzhou published a notice emphasizing the innovative developments of metaverse. Tongzhou points out the metaverse technology should be fused with sectors such as culture, tourism, and business. A month later, Tongzhou amended its previous notice, and mentioned AI, VR, blockchain, cloud computing and big data as supporting technologies to metaverse.

Currently, the meta-art district only only welcome tourists, but also businesses with a metaverse focus. To set up camp in the district, which is relatively far from Beijing’s main arts and culture scenes — Sanlitun and 798, businesses will be offered a slew of tempting perks such as rent reimbursement, IP protection, investments and opportunities to partnerships.