Born in 1967 in Xi'an, China. 

Lives and works in Beijing.


A graduate of the School of Fine Arts in Xi’an, Xing Danwen has closely followed the emergence of Beijing's artistic avant-garde, in which this young woman is now playing a role, equipped with her camera and equal proficiency in black-and-white and colour techniques. She supplemented her studies in 2000 with a Master in Visual Arts at the Institute of Visual Arts in New York.

In 1987 she exhibited her work at the Soho Photo Gallery in New York, then in 2001 in Nice during Photo Month, and in 2002 at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in China.

Xing Danwen exhibits domestically and internationally, including Whitney Museum of American Art, Pompidou Center, International center for Photography, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1st Yokohama Triennale and Sydney Biennale 2004, etc. Her works are also collected widely by museums and privates, including Whitney Museum, Pompidou, ICP, SF MoMA, FNAC, the Progressive, Groupe Lhoist, etc. 

In 2003, she presented her work at the Rencontres d’Arles, with her series Duplication at the Atelier des Forges, Arles.


Her artistic practice is both rich and varied and her subjects include: Dislocation between cultural status, conflicts between globalization and traditions, problematic environmental issues created by the developemnt, the urban drama between the desire and reality. Fiction, truth and illusion often play an important role in her works.