ThinkINchina was born in the fall of 2010 as a monthly academic discussion organized by young scholars and researchers, who live, study and work in China. It is thought as an informal channel of communication between the Chinese discourse regarding China and the foreign community of researchers and students that are in Beijing for improving their understanding of China itself. Our core objective is to maintain an interface at which the expatriate and Chinese host communities can freely challenge one another's assumptions and work towards mutual understanding. We therefore prioritize discussion over one-way transmission of information and offer no-cost, open access to all our live events and online resources. TIC was born at Bridge Café – a popular café’ in the heart of Beijing’s academic crossroad – out of the genuine desire to build an informal platform where Chinese and foreign academics of all ages can discuss and help each other by exchanging ideas and information. TIC turns this platform into a living community by organizing monthly public discussions with renowned Chinese scholars, academic workshops in the best Chinese universities and social events that help young students and researchers to get easily involved into Beijing’s academic environment. TIC can be seen like a town square, like a Greek ‘agora’, an open space where people meet and ideas flow. It is a young, curious and passionate network that believes in knowledge based on direct experience, a community that wants to think about China, from within China.