Center for Chinese Studies

A comprehensive survey of creative life in contemporary Beijing, Swing in Beijing captures a remarkable impression of the current state of fine and performing arts in this rapidly changing city. Academy Award nominee Shui-Bo Wang has incorporated interviews with artists, filmmakers, and musicians – including rock musician Gao Xing, painter Wei Dong, commercial artist Zhan Wang, filmmaker Jia Zhangke, and theater director Men Jeng Hui – along with clips of films, plays, music videos, paintings and other artwork in galleries and studios, and revealing footage of a city in transition. "A powerful impression of a varied, radical, and seemingly vibrant arts underground . . . a surprising, provocative, and stimulating look at this potentially influential subculture." – Professor Patrick Dowdey, Wesleyan University, Curator of the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies.