A visitor views photos showcased at the 2011 Pingyao International Photography Festival in Pingyao, north China's Shanxi Province, Sept. 20, 2011. The photo exhibition area, built in the old bulidings of former Pingyao Diesel Engine Factory which closed down in 2004, is expected to become an international cultural and tourism center of Pingyao in two years. (Xinhua)
An obsolete factory in the ancient city of Pingyao in north China's Shanxi Province will be renovated into an artistic community, said the art director of an ongoing international photography festival held here on Thursday.
A discarded diesel engine plant, which is a major display area for the seven-day Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIP), will be developed into a base for photo exhibitions and museums, photography training, and the distribution and trade of pictures, said Zhang Guotian.
An obsolete textile mill and knitting mill, which are housing some of the PIP's shows, will also likely be developed into similar art zones, according to Zhang.
To protect the walled city of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, the provincial legislature of Shanxi issued a regulation in 1998 requiring the transformation or relocation of existing industrial enterprises and banning the construction of new ones.
Currently, the ancient city registers no enterprises engaged in industrial production, said Wei Mingxi, head of Pingyao County.
