★ Grounded in Zygmunt Bauman's concept of "liquid modernity," the book advances a core thesis: "Digitalization is reconstructing the foundation of cities at an accelerating pace, and cities are about to become the largest experience nodes."
★ Led by Wu Sheng, founder of Scenario Lab and proposer of the "Scenario Methodology," with business thinker Wu Bofan as academic advisor and Li Xiang, author of Xiang Tan, as co-producer. The book distills a decade of practical exploration in scenario-based commercial innovation.
★ Structured as a hybrid of conceptual essays, thematic dialogues, and case studies—rather than a traditional systematic monograph—this is an "issue handbook" for professionals in urban renewal, commercial real estate, and cultural-creative industries.
★ Two in-depth case studies reveal the "growth experiment of place spirit": how Shanghai's Columbia Circle transformed from a restricted compound closed for 70 years into a benchmark for urban renewal, and how Haining's XSpecies Here helped a century-old brand achieve monthly sales of 100,000 RMB.
★ In August 2026, "XSpecies Boom: Wu Sheng Business Methodology Launch 2026" was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Wu Sheng's concepts of the "Next-Generation Consumer" and the six trends of "Visionary Business" were covered by China Daily, China Development Network, and other media outlets.

This book takes sociologist Zygmunt Bauman's "liquid modernity" as its theoretical foundation. Bauman argues that modern society has shifted from "solid" to "liquid"—structures are no longer stable, and connections are in constant flux. Liquid Offline transplants this theory from sociology into the analysis of commercial space, proposing the core thesis: "Digitalization is reconstructing the foundation of cities at an accelerating pace, and cities are about to become the largest experience nodes."
The book presents the practical pathways of "liquid offline" through two in-depth case studies.

Shanghai Columbia Circle (Shangsheng·Xinsuo). Originally built in 1924 as the Columbia Country Club, this area served successively as an expatriate club, a Japanese internment camp, and the office of the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products. After the institute relocated in 2016, the renovation team chose not to "radically overhaul" the site. Instead, they preserved the century-old Sun Ke Villa and the Naval Club swimming pool, allowing the 1960s Bauhaus-style building to coexist with new floor-to-ceiling glass structures within the same complex. The book frames this as a "growth experiment of place spirit"—a "two-way convergence and harmonious coexistence" of old and new architecture.

Haining "XSpecies Here." In June 2025, a space co-created by Scenario Lab and the city of Haining opened on Ganhe Street, adjacent to the former residence of poet Xu Zhimo. The approximately 2,600-square-meter building is wrapped in a transparent glass canopy, with six colors representing six business formats: café, Western dining, theater, intangible cultural heritage, reading room, and pastry shop. The century-old brand "Yanguan Wanchang · Store No. 0" achieved monthly sales of 100,000 RMB, while sales of Haining leather collage, bamboo weaving, and other intangible cultural heritage products grew several-fold. The space is defined as a "locally rooted, openly connected cultural consumption complex," following a "growth model" rather than a "production model."

Scenario Lab
Founded in 2015, Scenario Lab published The Scenario Revolution and first proposed the "Scenario Methodology." In 2016, it launched the "XSpecies Experiment Plan" and published Super IP. In 2017, it initiated the annual "XSpecies Boom" keynote event. In 2018, it released the first Scenario White Paper. The company has received investment from IDG Capital, Zhongding Capital, ZhenFund, Shengjing Wanglian, and other institutions.