Projects | Jenxi Seow

I believe in projects that compound over time. These aren’t side hustles or MVPs—they’re long-term commitments to things I care about.

WuxiaSociety

2012–present · wuxiasociety.com

A community platform for wuxia culture and martial arts fiction.

I grew up in a Mandarin-speaking household watching wuxia TV adaptations. When I discovered the original novels, I realized how much was lost in translation—literally. When community translation sites started disappearing, I built WuxiaSociety to preserve this cultural heritage.

Today it hosts translations of classic wuxia novels, resources for understanding Chinese literary context, and an active community of readers. I’m the founder and primary translator, currently working through Jin Yong’s catalog.

What I’ve learnt: Translation is cultural bridge-building. Every word choice is a decision about how much to preserve versus adapt. This project shaped my thinking about cross-cultural communication more than anything else.

MechaBay

2008–present · mechabay.com

A database for mecha anime and model kits.

This started as a spiritual successor to my first Gundam fan page from 1998 and Advent Destiny, a Gundam roleplay community I co-founded in 2002. What began as a hobby became a 16-year project and a testbed for my web design experiments.

MechaBay catalogs mecha series, mobile suits, and model kits. It’s never been about traffic or monetization—it’s about maintaining a resource for a community I’ve been part of since childhood.

What I’ve learnt: The value of showing up consistently over years. Most projects fail because people quit, not because the idea was bad.

HeyShenzhen

2025–present · heyshenzhen.com

A guide for people interested in, coming to, or newly arrived in Shenzhen.

After a decade in Shenzhen, I’ve accumulated knowledge that newcomers need but can’t easily find—practical information scattered across WeChat groups, Reddit threads, and outdated blog posts.

HeyShenzhen consolidates this into one resource: visa practicalities, neighborhood guides, how things actually work on the ground. It’s cross-cultural bridge-building in a different form.

What I’ve learnt: Still early, but already seeing how much assumed knowledge exists that locals take for granted.

Past projects

Advent Destiny

2002–2007 · adventdestiny.com · Community still active on Discord

Forum-based roleplay community born from watching Gundam SEED.

Started as “SEED RPG” in 2002 with fellow fans, we rebranded to Advent Destiny and grew to over 1,000 concurrent active members at our peak. The forum activity dwindled around 2007, but the core community never really left.

The founding members still meet up in person—most recently at my wedding in Johor Bahru in 2024. Twenty-two years later, these internet strangers became lifelong friends. One couple even met through the community and married—moving from Australia to Canada to be together ❤️.

Advent Destiny was the precursor to MechaBay and taught me everything about community building, collaborative storytelling, and the power of shared passion.

What I’ve learnt: Online communities can create real, lasting relationships. The platform matters less than the people.

BakingPixel

2015–2022 · With Matt Chung

Tech opinions blog with Matt. Our outlet for commentary on gadgets, apps, and industry trends. Taught me about finding a voice, and the value of short and timely content over long-form writing.

What I’ve learnt: Finding a voice takes time. And sometimes timely, short-form commentary has more impact than polished long-form pieces.

Flight 151 Bar & Cafe

2015–2016 · Shenzhen with Matt Chung

What started as a photography-themed coffee shop with Matt grew into a full bar and cafe with a flying theme, hence the name inspired by Barcardi 151. We grew from 4 founders to 30 employees and broke even in three months—then moved on when Matt returned to Malaysia to start a family.

What I’ve learnt: Passion projects and businesses operate on different logic. Also: how to build and lead a team under pressure—scaling from 4 to 30 people in months forces you to grow fast.

FrameShoot

2014–present (on hiatus) · frameshoot.com

Photography collective exploring street photography and visual storytelling.

Born from my obsession with street photography after picking up my first camera in 2009. FrameShoot was an attempt to build community around the craft—sharing work, discussing techniques, and pushing each other to shoot more.

Currently on indefinite hiatus, but the practice continues personally.

What I’ve learnt: Creative communities need active energy to sustain. When the founders’ attention shifts, the community follows. The practice outlasts the platform.

Origins

Where it all started.

Gundam Wing fan page

1998 · GeoCities → Angelfire

One of my first web projects, also one that has had a profound impact on my life. Built after falling in love with Gundam Wing, taught myself HTML and CSS to make it happen. Hosted on GeoCities, later moved to Angelfire because it had prettier subdomains.

This single fan page set the trajectory for everything that followed—web design, Advent Destiny and the life-changing friendships made on the site, MechaBay, and a 25+ year career building things on the internet.

What I’ve learnt: You can teach yourself anything if you want it badly enough. This page taught me HTML, CSS, and Photoshop—and the habit of teaching myself whatever I need to know. Skills and mindset I still use 25 years later.

Beach Boys fan shrine

1998 · GeoCities

Fan shrine for the Japanese TV drama Beach Boys (not the band). My first website where I applied what I’d learnt in class and published my first webpage on the World Wide Web. The drama not only spurred me to learn more about building websites, it also became a constant reminder of what I wanted to achieve with my life when I rewatched it at critical junctures in my life.

What I’ve learnt: The moment I hit publish and saw my page on the World Wide Web, I knew I wanted to build things for the internet. That feeling never left.

Works in progress

Building tools for translation workflows and knowledge bases. More details when they’re ready.