Xindanwei: one of the first coworking spaces created in China

This 2011 conference presentation by Liu Yan, co-founder of Xindanwei, described the development of a coworking community in Shanghai and its role in supporting creative work in China. The deck presented Xindanwei as a community that had begun with one 300-square-metre space and had grown to 6,000 members, more than 60% of whom came from abroad. It framed China’s challenge not as a shortage of creative people or ideas, but as a shortage of communities able to provide connections, resources, channels, scale and impact. The presentation argued that coworking centred on people rather than premises and outlined Xindanwei’s community-building process as five actions: awaken, engage, link, empower and execute. A diagram placed active coworkers at the centre of relationships with mentors, friends, projects, events and users, all supported through membership. The deck also connected coworking with broader participation and resource sharing, presenting shared activity as beneficial to the community as a whole. It concluded with Xindanwei’s Shanghai location and contact details.

Key findings

• Xindanwei reported that it had begun with one 300-square-metre coworking space in Shanghai.
• The presentation stated that Xindanwei had 6,000 members, with more than 60% coming from abroad.
• Xindanwei described its coworking process as awaken, engage, link, empower and execute.

Presented by Liu Yan, Xindanwei, at Coworking Europe 2011