Building Future-Ready Communities: Voices from China · Alternative Futures in Practice
Asia-Pacific Futures Network (APFN) 2026 Post-Conference Online Forum — Session 01
Beyond the prevailing headlines of geopolitical friction, industrial scale, and macroeconomic transition, what is actually taking shape in the everyday social fabric of Chinese communities in 2026? As an official international follow-up to the 10th Asia-Pacific Futures Network (APFN) Conference in Bangkok, this forum serves as an introspective, grounded 2026 situation snapshot of Chinese futures studies, futures research, and intentional community building from the "China Corner"—exploring how grassroots living laboratories, independent civic initiatives, and trans-disciplinary researchers are actively navigating climate turbulence, technological disruption, and profound reconfigurations of everyday life. This gathering is deliberately not a showcase of isolated case studies or instrumental deliverables, but an opening into an intertwined, emerging ecosystem of practitioners who are quietly prototyping alternative social futures from the ground up.
Over the past decade, grassroots communities across China have evolved from informal social spaces into resilient civic infrastructures. In this forum, four intertwined perspectives serve as entry points into this wider landscape:
01 // COMMONS & LIVING LABS: WANG Xiaochuan (706 Community)
12 years of youth living labs exploring alternative life paths in work, intimacy, co-living & emerging grassroots narratives.
02 // CLIMATE RESILIENCE & GROUNDED AGENCY: LI Yan (Abundant Climate)
Climate Futures events: disaster, clean tech transition & grounded human agency beyond doomism.
03 // FORESIGHT HERITAGE & CIVIC REVIVAL: CHENG Zhao (China Society for Futures Studies)
Futures Studies in China: Roots & Revival; connecting 40-year institutional foresight lineage with youth civic labs.
04 // TECH & POP-UP CITIES: SUN Bohao (The Mu)
Pop-up cities connecting global talents that create in China; builder habitats, tech residency & physical commons.
00 // CURATOR & MODERATOR: Louis Zheng (Co-founder, FuturistCircle)
Curating trans-local futures foresight, coordinating cross-disciplinary dialogue & open community Q&A.
This dialogue is warmly extended to both longtime observers of China and international peers across the Asia-Pacific and worldwide who seek an authentic, nuanced, and introspective 2026 "China catch-up." Rather than viewing these phenomena through external projections, the forum asks what we can learn from the frictions, collective care, and situated experimentation unfolding within China's community living labs. Crucially, the ultimate horizon of this conversation points outward and forward: How can we move beyond local silos to cultivate long-term collaborative initiatives across regions, prototype trans-local commons, and build shared futures that transcend borders?
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Event Schedule & Timezones:
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 · 19:30–21:30 CST (UTC+8)
· 18:30–20:30 Bangkok / Jakarta (UTC+7)
· 13:30–15:30 Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2)
· 07:30–09:30 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4)
Platform & Access:
Zoom Online Webinar (Free admission & open to global public)
Direct Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/launch/jc/82208499699
Meeting ID: 822 0849 9699
Passcode: 492312
Co-organizers & Contributing Networks:
Asia-Pacific Futures Network (APFN), 706 Community, Abundant Climate, China Society for Futures Studies (CSFS), FuturistCircle, The Mu.