Guanlan Printmaking Village, where tradition meets change

Located in Longhua District, Guanlan Printmaking Village is one of the 10 ancient Hakka villages in Shenzhen. It's a place to explore Shenzhen's creative scene, as parts of this 300-year-old Hakka village have been repurposed as a new artist village with workshops and galleries hosted by printmaking artists from home and abroad. 

Guanlan Printmaking Village, formerly known as Dashuitian Village, has a total area of 1.4 million square meters, with a central area occupying an impressive 316,000 square meters. The central area serves as a base for the city's creative printing industry and is home to a number of important annual print events. 

For tourist, the biggest draws of this village are the quiet tree-lined streets, beautiful Hakka architecture, ancestral temples, diaolou buildings, old wells, and row upon row of gallery spaces. 

In the artist village, printmaking artists work in workshops of various styles and visitors can try their hands in creating their own printmaking works. Long before Guanlan became an official artist village, the area was already famous for being the home of Chen Yanqiao (1911-1970), a pioneer in contemporary Chinese printmaking and famous art theorist and educator. Today, a museum stands in the village in his honor.

Venue: Guanlan Printmaking Village, Longhua District (观澜版画村)

Metro: Line 4 to Niuhu Station (牛湖站), Exit A, then take Bus No. 312 or No. M285 and get off at Printmaking Base Station (版画基地)

The entrance of Guanlan Printmaking Village. Photos by Lin Songtao