 The small city of Ji’an is within the Jinggangshan region, the “cradle of the Chinese revolution” and birthplace of the Chinese Red Army (the People's Liberation Army of China).This location is representative of an urban community within a vast rural area, providing a template for other cultural organizations to follow.Real Time magazine reported that “[IFChina] is said to be China’s first non-profit art and cultural organization that collects and documents the stories of ordinary Chinese.”

In June 2009, the organization sought to be under the umbrella of the state-owned Jinggangshan University and established its Participatory Documentary Center on JGSU campus.