In 2003, UNESCO declared the guqin an Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Around the same time period, three qin societies (qinshe; 琴社) were founded: the North American Guqin Association (北美琴社 NAGA; 1997) and the New York Qin Society (紐約琴社 NYQS; 2000) in the United States of America, and the London Youlan Qin Society (倫敦幽蘭琴社 LYQS; 2003) in the United Kingdom. Each of these qinshe would play a pivotal role in forming and developing a Western and semi-international English-speaking qin communities within their respective spheres. They allowed access to guqin musical culture during the early days when obtaining a guqin was difficult or expensive to do so. They also attracted non-Chinese people as well as overseas Chinese who were interested in Chinese arts and culture.  In this paper, I will explore the history of the guqin communities that were formed around these three qinshe. In their early days they developed a distinct and innovative existence that helped shaped the culture of the guqin in the Global West as it is today. I will explore their histories, from their foundations, their developments, the challenges they faced, and their futures to examine their influence and strategies that they employed to build, develop and maintain their relevance within the communities they inhabit.  In examining these qinshe, I will outline a preliminary history of the guqin in the West to give grounding to my planned doctoral research (commencing Sept 2026) in recording and exploring the culture of the guqin in the Global West, which has so far been less studied about. This will prepare my focus from public to private, from groups/communities to individuals, and how this dynamic might shape how qin culture is maintained in the West.