Chongqing Graffiti Street

Art Attack: The writing's on the wall in Chongqing's Graffiti Street

Daniel Allen

Chongqing Graffiti Street. — Chongqing Graffiti Street

Soaring into the sky above the Yangtze's muddy waters, muscular skyscrapers and multi-span bridges dominate the skyline of modern Chongqing. Yet despite the ubiquity of slick glass facades and massive concrete infrastructure, Bohemian whimsy is flourishing in southwestern China's largest city. You just need to know where to look.

Home to a campus of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (SCFAI) - one of China's most prestigious ar universities - Huangjueping District is Chongqing's pre-eminent hotbed of creativity. And where better to express that creativity than on the sides of local buildings?

Tuya ("Graffiti") Street

Extending over a kilometre from the local hospital to the 501 Art Warehouse, Tuya ("Graffiti") Street is Huangjueping's attention-grabbing artistic showcase. Hundreds of SCFAI students have transformed the walls and windows of apartment blocks here into a riot of colour, as unicorns, monkey-men and three-eyed monsters stare down at passers-by. A collection of more intricate streetside portraits complements the visual smorgasbord.

With a growing number of galleries, Huangjueping is gradually developing a reputation to rival Beijing's 798 Art District. Check out the wall art, move onto the more serious contemporary art studios of the 501 space (a former tobacco factory), before rounding things off with a latte in a local coffee shop. You might even catch the doodle bug yourself.