ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to fill the gap by examining the governance of two art districts in Beijing: Factory 798 and Songzhuang. There are two main focuses in the current literature on art districts: art-led gentrification; function of the art district as a cultural strategy for urban growth and place-marketing. The chapter discusses how the texture of politics shapes the governance and the development trajectories of the two art districts in Beijing. It shows that the party secretary of Xiaopu is the manager of the town government-owned development company in charge of land leasing and redevelopment in the entire art district. One situated in the obsolete Maoist factory and the other on barren rural land, Factory 798 and Songzhuang art districts have similar paths of growth. Despite the conflicts of interests and the fragmentation of power between various segments of the state, the state actors are able to settle the discords through negotiations and compromises.
