北京798藝術區所在的地方，是前民主德國援助建設的“北京華北無綫電聯閤器材廠”，即718聯閤廠。718聯閤廠於1952年開始籌建，1954年開始土建施工，1957年10月開工生産。

718聯閤廠是由德國德紹一傢建築機構負責建築設計、施工，這傢建築機構和當年的包豪斯學校在同一個城市，兩者在建築精神層麵上是共通的。其主要特點是：注重滿足實用要求；發揮新材料和新結構的技術性能和美學性能；造型簡潔，構圖靈活多樣。這種學派後來被稱為包豪斯學派。

1964年4月上級主管單位撤消瞭718聯閤廠建製，成立瞭706廠、707廠、718廠、797廠、798廠及751廠。2000年12月，原700廠、706廠、707廠、718廠、797廠、798廠等六傢單位整閤重組為北京七星華電科技集團有限責任公司。為瞭配閤大山子地區的規劃改造，七星集團將部分産業遷齣，為瞭有效利用産業遷齣空餘的廠房，七星集團將這部分閑置的廠房進行齣租。因為園區有序的規劃、便利的交通、風格獨特的包豪斯建築等多方麵的優勢，吸引瞭眾多藝術機構及藝術傢前來租用閑置廠房並進行改造，逐漸形成瞭集畫廊、藝術工作室、文化公司、時尚店鋪，於一體的多元文化空間。由於藝術機構及藝術傢最早進駐的區域位於原798廠所在地，因此這裏被命名為北京798藝術區。

The area occupied by Beijing 798 Art Zone was once the place for Beijing North China wireless joint equipment factory (namely, 718 Joint Factory), which was designed and built by the experts of former G.D.R in the 1950s. The Joint Factory was designed to be built in 1952 , constructed from 1954,put into production in October 1957.

The designing task of the 718 Joint Factory was in the charge of a German architectural institution in Dessau, which lied in the same city with Bauhaus school at that time and they two shared the same architectural spirits whose main characteristics are meeting the practical demands; bringing the technical and aesthetic property of new materials and new structure into effect; designing simply and composing pictures vividly with flexibility. That is the genre what later called Bauhaus.

On The April ,1964, the supervisor units canceled the organizational system of 718, established 706,707,718,797,798 and 751. The former six factories of 700, 706, 707, 718, 797, and 798 were reorganized and incorporated into Beijing Sevenstar Science and Technology Co., LTD in December, 2000. To cooperate the reforming plan of Dashanzi Area ,the Seven Group rented out these plants for short term. Attracted by ordered designing, convenient traffic, unique style of Bauhaus architecture, many art organizations and artists came to rent the vacant plants and transformed them, gradually formed a district gathered galleries, art studios, cultural companies, fashion shops etc. As the earliest area where the art organizations and artists moved in located in the original area of 798 factory, this place was named as Beijing 798 Art Zone.