Let us pull you back to 1930s' Beijing, as if you were sitting in a squeaking two wheeled rickshaw dizzily disappearing into a windy maze of hutong alleyways. During republican times, in the shadow of war and misery, the brothels of the capital became a unique meeting place for actors, revolutionaries, intellectuals and politicians.
We will follow in the tiny footsteps of the legendary flower girl - Saijinhua, and explore how warlords, Japanese aggressors, republican politicians and communist liberators all played a part in the life of Beijing's most famous courtesan. A lot of the old brothels and opium dens still stand to this day, built in a peculiar merge of traditional Chinese architecture and western Art Deco.
Along the way we will tell the history of Beijings historical entertainment district Bada Hutong, and show how this fascinating area became a window of western style modernity and helped shape a whole new idea of what it meant to be a woman. We will end our walk with cocktails and other refreshments at our gallery space.18:00-20:30 Saturday, October 28