“Building a Future Countryside”, the Pavilion of China at the 2018 Venice Biennale

Whether in the yellow Loess Plateau or in the water towns south of the Yangtze River, in the vast and abundant land of north-eastern China or in the green and beautiful farmlands of southern China, hundreds and thousands of villages have become sites for industrial development, self-building and cultural creation. These sites are enjoying tremendous opportunities offered by technological innovations in the Internet, logistics business, sharing economy and so on. The development of the countryside in contemporary China is unprecedented in both its scale and its approaches. More importantly, it anticipates a new solution based on China’s unique condition. Building a Future Countryside depicts the countryside of contemporary China through six episodes. With poetical dwelling, local producing, cultural practice, agricultural tourism, community building and future exploring, the exhibition outlines a FREESPACE for opportunity and anticipates future development. We return to the countryside where Chinese culture originated to recover forgotten values and overlooked possibilities; from there, we will build a future countryside.

Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) 

Curator: Li Xiangning 

Exhibitors: Dong Yugan, Hua Li, Liu Yuyang, Philip F. Yuan, Rural Urban Framework, Zhang Lei, Atelier Archmixing, Atelier Deshaus, Chen Haoru, China New Rural Planning and Design, Dong Gong, Drawing Architecture Studio, Hsieh Ying-Chun, Jin Jiangbo, Li Yikao, Li Xinggang, Seung H-ang, Nishizawa Ryue, Li Zhenyu, Lyu Pinjing, Naturalbuild, O-office Architects, temp architects, Xu Tiantian, Zhang Li, Zhao Yang, Zhu Jingxiang

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