Looking For a Work Space in Beijing? Check Out Garage Cafe

Both Willis and I are currently in Beijing now, and we’re always on the hunt for comfortable places to work from. I occasionally work from Garage Cafe and I think it’s an ideal place for bootstrapped entrepreneurs who are visiting Beijing for short periods.

Garage Cafe is located in the Zhongguancun area, often dubbed the Silicon Valley of China. It is surrounded by the big boys within the tech and entrepreneurship scene, such as Sina, Aigo, Innovation Works, and Tencent. The cafe aims to hold up to 150 people, and plays home to mostly Chinese entrepreneurs, VCs, and angel investors who are looking for a place to get stuff done and hold meetings.

Apart from offering coffee, food, and a physical space (see more photos below), Garage is a place to connect like-minded individuals working on startups. During lunchtime on weekdays from 1:30 to 2:00 pm, the cafe encourages patrons to interact with one another, exchange ideas, and to build relationships. They also offer photocopying, printing, and scanning services at a minimum fee. You can even list your startup on their website or put up hiring notices on their board if you’re looking to expand. Of course, it provides free internet too.

It can be interesting to eavesdrop on conversations – not that I was doing it on purpose, but they do get a little loud sometimes – and you’ll hear familiar names as entrepreneurs get really engrossed in topics they are really passionate about. The Garage Cafe does hold a number of entrepreneurial-related events, which is good if you want to have a taste of the vibrant Chinese scene within Beijing.

If you’d like to check it out for yourself the address is below (and see here on Baidu maps). You can also follow Garage Cafe on Weibo here.

Address: Haidian District,
Zhongguancun, Haidian Qiao,
Dong Nan Haidian Tu Shu Cheng Bu Xing Jie