This narrative inquiry involved a vibrant online knowledge community of Chinese novice teachers in colleges and universities. The teachers engaged in conversations with their me/ntor and peers, sharing life experiences and exchanging teaching puzzles. Through capturing the evolution (formation, development, sustainability) of the online knowledge community and focusing on three novice teachers' postings and interactions, this study explored how novice teachers' personal practical knowledge was refined and how their selves and identities were cultivated in the online teacher knowledge community during the preservice and in-service gap years, which were lacking in professional growth opportunities. Three factors especially influencing the teacher online community's development: 1) online chats supplemented by offline meetings; 2) story sharing while tasks were concurrently completed; 3) simultaneous mentor and peer learning. The significance of this research is that online teacher knowledge communities form an innovative approach to assist novice teachers struggling with induction issues and yearning for self-development. This research study adds to the literature about the development of teacher knowledge, communities of knowing and teacher identity in virtual contexts and suggests important implications for teacher education.