I was invited to Beijing to participate in one of several exhibitions coinciding with the Triennial, What If… at the National Museum of China, curated by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby. As an actor and spectator of this extravaganza, I attended opening events—which outnumbered the design shows and events themselves.
![Top image: The author as seen from the Great Assembly Hall. Photo by James Auger.<br /> Above: Red carpet in the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun. Top image: The author as seen from the Great Assembly Hall. Photo by James Auger.<br /> Above: Red carpet in the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_1210_2.%20red%20carpet%20in%20the%20Great%20Hall%20of%20the%20People-photo%20nelly%20ben%20hayoun_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Above: Red carpet in the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.
![The Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun. The Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_4652_3.%20the%20Great%20Hall%20of%20the%20People%203-nelly%20benhayoun_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
If the need for 'Good Design' is simplistic enough, with the stated 'ultimate goal…to help Made in China transform to Designed in China', its mandates are in conflict.
![The Beijing International Design Triennial opening ceremonies. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun. The Beijing International Design Triennial opening ceremonies. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_3321_4.%20opening%20ceremony%202-nelly%20benhayoun%20_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![What is your vision of the future? Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun. What is your vision of the future? Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_2185_5.%20what%20is%20your%20vision%20of%20the%20future-nelly%20benhayoun_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
This indulgence in spectacle obliterated the exhibitions themselves, which included Creative Junctions, Good Guys, Rethinking Bamboo, Reason Design Emotion, and the aforementioned What if… It reminded me of the issues that the host city itself presents, a city that Ai Weiwei famously called "a nightmare…a constant nightmare."
![Inside the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun. Inside the Great Hall of the People. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_8248_6.%20the%20Great%20Hall%20of%20the%20People%20inside-nelly%20benhayoun_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Preparation for National Day, anti-explosion check. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun. Preparation for National Day, anti-explosion check. Photo by Nelly Ben Hayoun.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_8260_7.%20preparation%20for%20the%20national%20day-%20anti-explosion%20check,nbh%20_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
![Red flags, Forbidden City. Photo by James Auger. Red flags, Forbidden City. Photo by James Auger.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_6827_8.%20Red%20flags-Forbidden%20City-pictures%20by%20James%20Auger_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)
Nelly Ben Hayoun
![Never expose to intense meat or hot vehicles. Photo by James Auger. Never expose to intense meat or hot vehicles. Photo by James Auger.](/content/dam/domusweb/en/design/2011/10/24/design-as-spectacle-beijing-international-design-triennial/big_364945_4466_9.%20do%20not%20expose%20to%20intense%20meat%20and%20hot%20vehicles-JA_UPD.jpg.foto.rmedium.jpg)