The Rich Millennials Shaking Up China’s Art Market

By Aaina Bhargava

A massive metal X marked the spot this summer for one of Beijing’s latest art world openings: a sculptural entryway to the double-storey X Museum in the buzzing Chaoyang district. Like almost every other event in 2020, it was delayed, but despite Covid-19 locking down the Chinese capital for most of the first half of the year, this vernissage opened to much fanfare.

The exterior of the X Museum in Beijing. Photo: Simon Song

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration counts more than 5,100 museums across the country, and rising, almost double the 2,601 of a decade ago. But what distinguishes X from the slew of recently established private institutions is what happens when you knock off the 01 from that last number, leaving you with co-founder Michael Xufu Huang’s age...READ MORE