The opening ceremony for 'Audi: The Star Moments' was held on 'Uneven Ground', a work by the well-known artist Ai Weiwei that has been incorporated into the Commune By The Great Wall. The site was quite impressive, especially with the mountains surrounding the Commune By The Great Wall animated by hundreds of Audi flags and banners. And then there beside a red Audi racing car stood Pan Shiyi, the developer of the Commune By The Great Wall. Tastefully dressed in a Tang Dynasty style silk suit, he proceeded to deliver an upbeat and enthusiastic speech.
After the opening ceremony, people visited each of the individual villas in the development. Meanwhile, different performances were held in front of each villa. In front of 'The Cantilever House', villa number 6 of the Commune By The Great Wall, three women dancers from Germany gave an elegant and heartfelt interpretation of the new Audi A8. They shared the spotlight with oil paintings by famous Chinese painter Feng Feng. When the performance in front of villa No. 6 concluded, a fashion show began on the T-shaped roof of villa number 7. The avant-garde fashion show went well with the dynamic, stylish, and practical Audi A4.
The last activity, a tea drinking ritual, was held inside of villa number 8, which was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. This villa is built on a slope and the interior is divided up in a simple manner using bamboo walls. The subtle meanings of the traditional tea ritual resonated against this Japanese-style backdrop, as did the clean, cutting-edge features of the Audi TT.
As night descended upon the mountains, visitors were guided by streetlights along the meandering mountain road to the club designed by Korean architect Seung H-Sang. It was here that the Commune By The Great Wall Boutique Hotel held its opening ceremony. More than 500 guests filled the club with enthusiasm and excitement. While enjoying a fusion-style buffet, guests also took pleasure in a humorous speech delivered by Mr. Pan Shiyi. As a final gesture Mr. Pan expressed his wish that in the future everybody would be driving an Audi to the Commune By The Great Wall to spend their vacations.
All the activities had come to a successful close by 9 o`clock that night, and the guests left the Great Wall with some wonderful new memories.
In March 2001, famous Beijing real estate developers Pan Shiyi and Zhang Xin together with twelve renowned Asian architects held a press conference at the SOHO NewTown showroom to officially promote the Commune By The Great Wall as a museum of contemporary architecture. Chinese and overseas media paid tremendous attention to the inception of this project.
After more than a year's hard work, the Commune By The Great Wall has established its reputation in China and abroad. Strongly recommended by many international convention organizers, it has also been accepted by La Biennale di Venezia, which it will attend in Italy this September. Word got around quickly and many people came to the Shuiguan Great Wall to visit this group of famous buildings before they were even completed. The three villas from the first phase are now open to the public as Boutique Hotel. Other villas will also be opening their doors to guests soon. Presently all villas are open to the public for visiting.
