千禧年伊始，幾個藝術家和畫廊進駐北京東北部廢舊閒置的798廠房，發起「再造798」 等一系列藝術活動，推動了中國當代藝術公共化、市場化的進程。短短數年間，吸引了大批藝術家和畫廊經營者進駐798，使其迅速蛻變為成國際矚目的文化創意產業園，在2008年北京奧運會期間達到發展頂峰。在經歷狂飆式發展和國際金融危機後，2012年後的中國藝術市場逐漸衰退。期間798也發生了歷史性的轉變，成為北京新地標。可以說，北京798藝術區見證了中國當代藝術從突飛猛進式發展，到市場衰退的全過程。本書彙集798黃金十年間（2002–2012）六十餘家藝術機構的近千張活動海報，作者亦對十六位藝術家、策展人和畫廊經營者進行深入訪談，提供了這段歷史的珍貴圖像與口述見證。

The 798 Art District, born out of the repurposing of abandoned factory buildings in northeastern Beijing, became a symbol of China’s booming contemporary art scene in the early twenty-first century. Initiatives such as “Reconstruction 798” spurred the development of the art district, creating a public, market-driven hub of contemporary art that reached its zenith around the time of 2008 Beijing Olympics. This book documents 798’s remarkable pioneering decade between 2002 and 2012, capturing the art district’s heyday, as well as its subsequent decline following the global financial crisis and the resulting downturn in the Chinese art market. Presenting his personal collection of nearly one thousand event posters and firsthand interviews with sixteen eminent artists, curators, and gallery owners, Xu Yong provides an invaluable record of contemporary Chinese art during this transformative period.