New app provides up-to-date maps of sprawling art zone

Well anyone who's visited Beijing's 7-9-8 Art Zone knows that it can be challenging to find your way around. But, now there's an app for that.

798 is the largest contemporary art park in Beijing, occupying a huge space in the city's Northeast. And locating a particular exhibition among the hundreds of galleries here can be daunting. But thanks to QR codes now posted throughout the zone, visitors can access real-time information about exhibits, as well as maps of their locations.

"I'm planning to see this water-ink painting exhibition. So I just scan the code and see how to get there with this real-time map."

Ma Bin, Tencent Co. Ltd., said, "We want all the road information to be real-time and three-dimensional. The app makes the 798 art zone come to life."

It also enables users to check out what's inside the exhibition sites. All of which makes it a very valuable tool for navigating the ongoing 798 Art Festival, which started last Saturday and is presenting a massive variety of artistic activities.