By IPS Correspondents
BEIJING, Nov 29 2004 (IPS)

Maoist sobriety is out, but so is flashy Western- induced modernity. China’s new urban rich are trying to reach out for a new, eclectic Chinese style that combines oriental opulence with sophisticated simplicity.

Beijing, a city in the throes of vast urban re-design before the 2008 Olympics, is leading the change. The Chinese capital is becoming once again a centre of refined pleasures and cultural pursuits, notwithstanding the supersized malls, futuristic buildings and unceasing construction.

Before it surrendered itself to Chairman Mao Zedong’s vision of being an industrial stronghold with a skyline of smoking chimneys, the imperial capital of China used to be a cultural mecca of quaint shops, teahouses and temples.

Now, it seems, things have come around full circle and it’s Beijing’s time again. Out of the blue, architects, artists and intellectuals are all flocking to Beijing and there is plenty of Saturday vernissages, elegant boutique openings and Sunday hunts of the antiques markets.

Trendy designers are becoming a hot commodity with China’s new class of rich – all too eager to abandon their austere proletarian flats and move into million-dollar designer villas.

”It feels like a revolution in taste,” Emily Zhang, owner of one of the pioneer modern art galleries in Beijing, the Qin Gallery, tells IPS. ”Everyone is interested in art, design and culture and it is not only about money anymore.”

Leaving aside the highbrow intellectual scorn towards money-making, it is indeed China’s economic boom that is propelling a surge in artistic and cultural experiments – from architecture to interior design and modern art.

”What do you aspire to after having bought your own car and your own house? Wealthy Chinese people want to acquire a certain lifestyle and the more choices, the better,” argues Celia Shi, founder and president of Beijing Illinois Co. Ltd, a homegrown interior design and furniture company.

Despite its all-foreign name, Illinois is a Chinese success story. In its nine years of history, the company has grown by targeting the expanding and increasingly wealthy Chinese middle-class and their newly discovered affection for quality goods with opulent, often oriental flavour.

The way Illinois has become a buzzword for a new urban chic, built around the themes of chinoiserie, speaks volumes about the changes in lifestyle and taste that big Chinese cities are experiencing.

The opening of Swedish furniture giant Ikea shop in the capital six years ago attracted vast crowds, and the company still ranks as one of the biggest influences on popular taste. Anything foreign (read modern) still has top cachet but a few, like Illinois founder Celia Shi, are trying to come up with a new and different Chinese style.

Where Ikea’s trademark is blonde-wood furniture emphasising austere minimalism, Illinois focuses on imposing dark-wood furniture pieces that suggest affluence and opulence. And while Ikea aims to produce affordable home products for the average Chinese urban consumer, Illinois targets affluent middle-class consumers – those with an annual income of more than 42,000 yuan (5,000 U.S. dollars).

No longer is the term ”Made in China” synonymous with cheap, low quality goods. Catering to the increasing demand for lifestyle varieties of its customers, Illinois has so far rolled out 40 distinct series, with catchy names like Aurora, Moli, New Vivid and even Armani.

They span the range of neo-classical Chinese furniture made from dark solid wood with oriental twists like engraved bamboo leaves to minimalist modern home-office chairs and bookshelves in quirky combinations of steel and glass. Dining room sets come with marble or glass tabletops, accompanied by chairs with velvet and silk upholstery.

The ornate retro style, harking back to China’s past, is visible even in the modern art circles in Beijing where the avant-garde and experimental tend to dominate.

For example, Shangdong artist Pang Yongjie’s paintings of voluptuous naked beauties, inspired by Tang Dynasty aesthetics, have become sought after chic accessories in the interiors of both traditional Beijing courtyards and hip modern flats.

”Pang is popular because he is both abstract and traditional,” comments Emily Zhang, the art dealer. ”The body shapes are suggestive but his colours are all from old China – yellow, red and purple, and the paintings look quite dramatic.”

But it is not only the interior of the houses that is changing. Only a few years back, when choosing their dream house, wealthy urbanities were in pursuit of Spanish-style haciendas, European mansions or California- style villas – all available just a stone’s throw from the city centre.

Now, however, Tang-style housing is quickly making a comeback in Beijing’s sprawling suburbs. Modern villas built in Chinese style with floating roofs and glass-dome inner courtyards are springing up everywhere, drawing locals and foreigners alike.

The time is right for Chinese-style villas to enter the luxury real estate market, argues Lu Dalong, the developer of Cathay View, a new courtyard villa compound in the Shunyi suburbs. ”Because with China’s growing influence in the world, the Tang style has become increasingly popular internationally.”

But designer Rebecca Xsu thinks the trend reflects a desire to get back to nature and one’s roots. ”People are looking for an escape – there is too much steel and concrete around. In the past, Beijingers lived close to nature and the earth. Look at our courtyards – they had earthen floors and were open to the sky. Designers want to reflect that.”

The age-old Chinese desire to commune with the natural environment is also evident in an innovative collection of holiday homes, all individually designed by 12 top Asian architects and located near the Great Wall.

It is a curious mélange of ultra-modern and individualist Zen-style design called the Commune that blends with the surrounding nature. On a more earthy note, staff at the Commune wear Maoist-style uniforms with badges that evoke the fervour of the Cultural Revolution.

The originality of this new, “made in China” style was recognised at the 2002 architectural Biennale in Venice where the Commune’s developer Zhang Xin won a special prize, the Silver Lion, for her role as a ”patron of architecture”.

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