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Every year, about 60 students graduate from the two best fine arts institutes of China -- the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and the China Fine Arts Academy in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Graduates from these two academies constitute the main elements of China's circles of young artists. Among them, less than one quarter continue on the artistic road, and they mostly come to Beijing or Shanghai in hopes of an opportunity to exhibit their creations and make contact with art brokers. The luckier ones might be recognized by, and welcomed into, Chinese art circles after four or five years, but they would represent only a small percentage of all those who had gone to try their luck. Yang Fudong is considered by many of his friends as a young artist, but holding his own exhibition is by no means easy. He has saved for exhibition fees from his salary as computer art designer for a company. Although he was born in Beijing, he feels the artistic environment of Shanghai to be more bohemian and free from constraint, and so currently lives there. Yang graduated from the China Fine Arts Academy in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province -- one of the most beautiful cities of China. He became accustomed to life in southern China in his student days, and made many friends there, so the likelihood of holding an exhibition there seemed much higher than in Beijing, which was one of the reasons why he decided to stay in Shanghai five years ago. Yang's works mainly consist of modernist photos and short films. He has not yet gained a foothold within Chinese art circles, and is far from living a wealthy life from selling his works. Yang will nevertheless not give up his ambition to become a recognized artist in the real sense. The lives of many unknown young Chinese artists like Yang Fudong are far less romantic than their works, one of their biggest problems being that they have to self-fund their exhibition fees, since sponsors willing to provide the finance necessary to stage an exhibition are not easily found. Since holding an exhibition is the only way to let their works be seen, these expenses have to be paid out of their own savings, or with the help of friends. If a well-known art broker, especially one from overseas, or authoritative artist, comes along to the exhibition, and is impressed with a piece of work, the artist's luck might change for the better. The arrival of foreign art brokers in China has caused discernible changes in the lives of Chinese artists and, more particularly, in their creations. In the early 1990s, the first group of Western art exhibition designers and critics came to China, each having the telephone number of a Chinese artist or critic given to them by a friend. From this artist or critic, they subsequently obtained a list of the names of more Chinese artists, and went out to find them and appraise their work. For about one decade, Western art aficionados used this door-to-door method to explore Chinese avant-garde art. Those supplying such names and arranging meetings between artists and Western art brokers played a key role within this scenario, since they acted as a link between Chinese artists who wanted to be included on the list, and the westerners looking for fresh talent. These middlemen were consequently supplied with the opportunity and funds to travel abroad, and were highly valued by domestic artists. This intermediary role is largely played by mainland or overseas Chinese artists or critics. Since the 1993 Venice Biennial, most Chinese artists participating have been rewarded by sales of their works at high prices, by the opportunity to go abroad to show their works at international exhibitions, and by having their names mentioned by the Western media. This has stimulated Chinese art circles, and many young and middle-aged artists look forward to being "enrolled" in this system, rather than participating in national exhibitions organized by the China Artists' Association. Since 1993, the middlemen and artists involved in the international exhibition system have formed their own circles. They meet foreigners at the airport, and provide them with lists of artists. They accompany foreign exhibition designers going to meet artists, and then introduce them to their counterparts in other Chinese cities. Members of this circle are scattered throughout Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, GuangZhou and other big cities, and constitute an elite network with its own ground rules. By the late 1990s, this clique had become familiar with foreigners' psychological reactions. They knew how to establish a personal rapport with them, and what kind of places they liked to be taken to, before being presented with the particular genre of art which caught their fancy. At present, many young Chinese artists lay great store on the reactions of foreign brokers, and are consequently very passionate and bold in their creations, in an effort to win broker approval. There are also artists of repute who tailor their artistic style to suit broker taste and that of potential buyers. Their works are consequently becoming less distinctive. The Shanghai Biennial in 2000 seemed a rare opportunity for unknown Chinese artists. Modernist artists were formally recognized, and there were fewer government restrictions. Certain obscure Chinese artists were thus ostensibly given the chance to exhibit their creative works at an important art event. However, those eventually invited to participate in the exhibition were relatively better known painters, while complete unknowns such as Yang Fudong and their works were excluded from this art exhibition. However, ultimately there was a chance for young Chinese artists to promote their works through this rare opportunity. The peripheral exhibitions of the Shanghai Biennial included the creations of around 100 young artists. Yang Fudong and two of his friends held their exhibition in a studio converted from a storage room, and named it "Valid Period." Their exhibition comprised avant-garde films and unconventional photos, while they and their friends acted as models for their creations. With their shoestring financial outlay, peripheral exhibitions were all on a small scale, and not as influential as the mainstream Shanghai Biennial, but critics nevertheless commented that they reflected the all-round development of contemporary Chinese art, and, as such, were meaningful and of artistic significance. Yang Fudong and other peripheral exhibition participants are gratified by what the critics had to say, since this means they now stand more of a chance of being recognized and accepted into Chinese art circles.