Although the community's current concerns are perhaps more financial than sociological, the shift toward the foreign market in the 1980s and the rise of the nouveau riche at the beginning of the new century have reshaped the landscape.
It brought far-reaching consequences for the Chinese avant-garde scene, as focus shifted away from the emerging capitalistic distractions and political pressures and opportunity was given in a tranquil environment for inner reflection and deep contemplation.
However, problems arose once the community began attracting attention/notoriety from the media, gallery owners and other quarters, making artistic life more difficult as the once relaxed and free atmosphere came under closer scrutiny.
In an effort to preserve the spirit of the avant-garde, Fang Lijun, Zhang Huiping and Yue Minjun took the bold initiative in the spring of 1994 to relocate from Yuanmingyuan to the farming area of Songzhuang Township, located between the Chaobai and Wenyu rivers in Tongzhou District, 20 km away from central Beijing.
Here, the old style farmhouses, many with a small front courtyards or gardens, proved an ideal living and working space for the artists, more of whom would subsequently arrive following the official closure of the Yuanmingyuan community in 1995, this being in some part due to the latter’s proximity to Beijing’s university district.