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August 7, 2024 50 mins

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Leaving Chinese Tier 1 cities that are often the heartbeat of cultural creation and where artists can find patreons, we met two creatives that leave in remote artists communities. Leveraging cheap rent and the artistic community around them, they offer a testimony to creatives' never ending resourcefulness.

Featuring
- Guo Xiadong : Film Producer (in Songzhuang - near Beijing)
- Ryan LaBar : Artist (in Jingdezhen - Jiangxi province)

To go further
- Middle Earth episode #20 Making a Metropolis: Contemporary Chinese Architecture and Urban Planning
- Middle Earth episode #86 Surviving the cutthroat world of e-commerce in China, with Dr Lin Zhang author of "The Labor of Reinvention"
- TWOC's article What’s Next for China’s Once-Thriving Artist Communes? by Alex Colville
- TWOC's article Bringing the Porcelain Capital of the World into the 21st Century by TIna Xu

Middle Earth is made by China Compass Productions and hosted by Aladin Farré. If you have a China-themed cultural project, like shooting your next documentary, or are looking for a specific talent, please get in touch! 

Chinese speaker? Follow our Bilibili account 阿拉丁_说电影

With thanks Ren Jiayin for production, and Sean Calvo for music support.

The World of Chinese Magazine
A magazine about Chinese society, culture, history, arts, language, and more.

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