Liangzhu Shuqi Bay

Liangzhu is one of those places that recalibrates your sense of history. The Liangzhu Archaeological Site — a 5,000-year-old city that predates Stonehenge and the Egyptian Old Kingdom — sits five minutes by bicycle from the base. The UNESCO designation came in 2019, and the surrounding new town has been developed with an unusual degree of care.

The newest base in the list

Officially known as the Liangzhu Shuqi Bay AI+ Industry Community (良渚数栖湾), the base opened on September 25, 2025, making it the newest entry in this directory. It was purpose-built to serve AI entrepreneurs, digital nomads, and one-person companies (OPCs) — and it benefits from everything the earlier wave of co-living spaces learned.

The core zone spans roughly 18,400 square meters and includes shared coworking floors, soundproofed phone booths that actually isolate sound, a live demo area for AI projects, and a café-style social zone. The standing desks are height-adjustable. The communal kitchen was designed by someone who cooks. The WiFi has redundant failover. These details accumulate.

The UNESCO adjacency

Living beside a 5,000-year-old city creates an odd but pleasant effect on productivity: the perspective it provides makes most work problems feel manageable. The Liangzhu Museum (designed by David Chipperfield) is a 10-minute cycle and is genuinely one of the best archaeology museums in China.

The base leans into this heritage deliberately. Weekly programming covers Liangzhu jade, silk traditions, and archaeological topics — and the community supports content creators who want to build around the Liangzhu cultural IP.

Hangzhou access

The base runs a shuttle to Hangzhou’s metro system (Liangzhu station, Line 5 and future Line 3 extension) every 30 minutes during commute hours. Door-to-door to Hangzhou East Station is 40 minutes. Door-to-door to Hangzhou’s Xixi coworking district is 35 minutes.

Community stage

Because the base is new, the community is still forming. This can be a feature: early residents have more influence over the culture than they would at an established base with fixed norms. The current team is actively recruiting writers, researchers, and founders who want to co-create what Shuqi Bay becomes.

The base runs weekly AI salons, industry matchmaking sessions, and investor pitch events. Founders accepted into the Hangzhou AI Startup Camp (杭创AI营) receive free mentorship and access to early-stage funding focused on small and solo ventures.

The policy package

For AI entrepreneurs and OPC founders willing to register a company at the base, Hangzhou’s Yuhang District has structured a notable incentive package:

• Rent waiver — up to three years of fully subsidized rent, capped at 300 square meters or 15 dedicated desks
• Desk-based company registration — register your business at a coworking desk, purpose-built for OPCs and solo founders, through the Hangzhou Market Supervision Authority
• Compute subsidy — dedicated credits toward cloud services and AI infrastructure costs
• Talent stipend — living allowances for digital nomads and community leads, plus free short-stay accommodation at the talent hostel
• Accelerator access — free mentorship through the Hangzhou AI Startup Camp, with early-stage fund coverage for small and pre-seed ventures
• Community programming — weekly AI salons, industry networking, and investor roadshows
• Cultural IP support — resources for content creators building around the Liangzhu heritage brand
• Business services — one-stop company registration, bookkeeping, and government subsidy filing

Eligibility criteria — particularly for foreign nationals and overseas returnees — should be confirmed directly with the base management before making relocation decisions.

Who it’s for

Nomads who want to be near Hangzhou’s ecosystem without paying Hangzhou city prices. AI founders and solo builders who want subsidized infrastructure and a government-backed runway. Researchers with any interest in Chinese history or archaeology. Remote workers who’ve done rural bases before and want something culturally richer than just bamboo and fiber.