I remember 5 years ago, some of my musician friends were living in a condo out on the edge of the city too. They used to do rehearsal late at night and neighbor

I remember 5 years ago, some of my musician friends were living in a condo out on the edge of the city too. They used to do rehearsal late at night and neighbors always came the next day to complain. Actually not Beijing, most large cities in China have people like these. One of my best friends is now a designer in Tsingtao (yes, the brand of the beer). He used to hang out with a group of painters, who graduated from top art schools in China, but decided to paint, so they rent a very large room by the street, those kind of room people would think of as a forever 21 shop or GNC shop. And they each have their own tent to sleep in, their paintings were hanging all over the wall. They had boxes of beers, cokes, and cigarettes. Some of their paintings are fantastic, but some are just commercial paint for sale. The point is, some of these guys will make it and create cool stuff out there, some will fail and become a nobody. That's the beauty and the cruelty of the real world... IIRC, of all these artists I know, only one Beijinger is still trying to make art now, others are all busy making money, because I guess in China, surviving is the most important thing in people's life.