Switching to a new track

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought difficulties for Guo Zhiming. After all, her business is focused on offline people-to-people connectivity. However, it led to this former office worker in Beijing's CBD creating a place for urban residents' mental cultivation.

" (The business's) operation strategy has to be adjusted from time to time," she says. "But we have to go through this pain."

There are no subway or bus connections to Lang Yuan Station, and the nearest large-scale residential compound is at least 2 kilometers away. This unconventional location for a business hub also throws more challenges upon the creatives based there.

"Access to public transport here is actually not that convenient," Guo Zhiming says. "But it also helps to refine our customers. Today's young people are willing to pay for shared values.

"Such an urban renewal program is being embraced by a group of business start-ups who expect renewal," she adds. "From design to management ideas, we've witnessed varieties of business. Many creative formats of consumption are being incubated here. It's a cooperative relationship."