At one of the year’s coldest moments, China UnionPay (中国银联) has dropped an ad designed to bring a little warmth. It comes in the form of a Lunar New Year film that does away with spectacle, noise of flashy discounts in place of something closer to the heart: home.
The setup is simple. Grandma Wang Shuzhen travels to Europe with her granddaughter to see her off on her year studying abroad. The trip becomes a quiet retracing of Wang’s late husband’s life, guided by an old map and unresolved memories that lead the family to Barcelona. The granddaughter, meanwhile, plans a surprise, tracking down a restaurant run by her grandfather’s former apprentice.
Food plays a big role in China UnionPay’s Lunar New Year film. Tapas is reframed as Chinese dishes. Pizza – a familiar flatbread. Crepes read as sweet jianbing. The point isn’t cultural comparison for its own sake, but emotional overlap: different cuisines, same instincts.
The film peaks when Wang eats a dish marked ‘Specially for Shuzhen,’ cooked in the style her husband once made. Time collapses, distance disappears. The taste of home becomes a deep and emotionally charged moment.
UnionPay’s branding stays in the background. Cards appear naturally in restaurants and on the street, reinforcing an accepted-everywhere type message without intruding on the magic of the ad. The most pointed moment comes as Wang hands her UnionPay card to her granddaughter before she begins life abroad. It’s a powerful message of support, trust, inheritance, and rooted in a family-oriented tone that Chinese viewers will find relatable.
Though China UnionPay’s Lunar New Year film is loosely inspired by Chinese chefs who went abroad in the 90s, the film also hits on a contemporary reality. Chinese families are increasingly global. Children are studying away from home, parents are on business, international destinations are more popular than ever come holiday season.
For a payment network supported in more than 180 countries, acknowledging that reality seems like a smart option. UnionPay’s real magic, though, is that by pushing a message of home they’re really offering users something that a good home never fails to provide: security, trust, and reassurance.
