Xinchejian (
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
: 新车间;
pinyin: xīn chē jiān) is the first
hackerspace in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It was founded in 2010 by David Li, Ricky Ng-Adam, and Min Lin Hsieh in
Shanghai, inspired by hackerspaces in the West and the Shanzhai culture of China. Xinchejian is registered as a company, but is run as a non-profit organization, and managed by volunteers.
Mission
According to Xinchejian's about page, "Xīnchējiān is a non-profit organization, its mission is to support, create and promote physical computing, open source hardware and Internet of Things... Our long-term goal is to spread the concept and philosophy across China and inspire Hackerspaces in every large city from east to west."
Xinjechian has been noted as China's first hackerspace, and as a place for innovation and collaboration, in a country also known for its strong internet censorship.
Membership
Xinchejian encourages people to become a member and contribute to the maker community in Shanghai. Non-members are welcome on Wednesday nights at the open night talks, and are encouraged to participate in workshops. Workshops for learning skills, such as
Arduino, and simple projects often have a cost to cover the instructor and materials. Membership costs 100 RMB per month (~16 USD).
Xinchejian is loosely managed by its unpaid volunteer staff members.
Projects
Xinchejian members have been involved numerous hobby, commercial, and artistic projects.
A Xinchejian team won second place in the roaming category in a $10 USD Robot Design Challenge from the African Robotics Network.
Community Participation
Xinchejian members are involved in numerous events, including regional maker events such as
Maker Faire
Maker Faire is a convention of do it yourself aka-DIY enthusiasts started by ''Make'' magazine in 2006. Participants come from a wide variety of interests, such as robotics, 3D printing, computers, arts and crafts, and hacker culture.
History
...
in
Shenzhen and the Maker Carnival in Shanghai. Xinchejian hopes to contribute to the founding of hackerspaces throughout China.
Media Coverage
Xinchejian has been covered by international media for a myriad of projects involving their membership.
* The Wall Street Journal
In China, Lessons of a 'Hackerspace'* Wired
These $10 Robots Will Change Robotics Education* Bloomberg
China's Maker Movement Gets Government Support for DIY Workshops* Hackday:
Intro to Xinchejian in Shanghai
Physical Space
In December 2020, Xinchejian moved into a larger space at Huide Mansion, in
Huangpu district Huangpu, also formerly romanized Whangpoo or Whang-Po, may refer to:
* Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
** Huangpu River, in Shanghai, China
* Huangpu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
** Huangpu Military Academy, in Guangzhou, China
* Pazhou ...
of
Shanghai. The current space has a
machine shop
A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...
, areas for
3D printing
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...
,
Laser cutting
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutt ...
, electronics, and desks for laptop work and socializing. Xinchejian has had a physical location since 2011.
In 2014, Xinchejian moved into the People Squared Co-working space at 28 Yuyuan East Road, in
Jing'an District of
Shanghai.
This space had a
machine shop
A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or plast ...
, areas for
3D printing
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is ...
,
Laser cutting
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutt ...
, electronics, and desks for laptop work and socializing.
See also
*
Maker culture
The maker culture is a contemporary subculture representing a technology-based extension of DIY culture that intersects with hardware-oriented parts of hacker culture and revels in the creation of new devices as well as tinkering with existing on ...
*
Hackerspace
*
Open source hardware
*
Open design
References
External links
Xinchejian.comHackerspaces.org/xinchejian
{{Hackerspace
DIY culture
Hackerspaces
Computer clubs
Hacker culture
Non-profit organizations based in China