[Photo provided to China Daily]

It's where imaginative youth imagine.

Soft music wafts from a record player perched next to the cafe's bar.

Young people surrounding it thumb through books, massage paintbrushes into artworks and fiddle with their phones.

Several engage in heated discussion at a lecture in the next room. Others rest in their own rooms upstairs.

It's like any Friday afternoon at 706 Youth Space.

The establishment is a blend of a library, coffee shop, hostel and event center.

"706 is a cultural and information harbor catering to young people's needs," founder Wu Fangrong says.

"It offers alternative lifestyles."

The space is located in Beijing's Wudaokou area, which houses thickets of universities, including some of the country's most elite.

Its patrons hail from all walks of life.

That includes a subculture of "slashers"－people, who each have several "slash careers"－seeking a place to live and a platform to make friends and showcase talents.