For the Chinese New Year, Danish construction toy maker LEGO has opened a pop-up market at Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing. The outdoor immersive space built in the style of LEGO toys has taken over the courtyard of the shopping mall. The space was launched on 21 January and will remain open until 18 February, after the Chinese New Year.
The brick-built market includes traditional CNY elements including replicas of both the dragon and lion dances, a Chinese drum, a Chinese pavilion and a gateway decorated with fai chun and mensen “door gods”. A photo booth has been set up for purikura-style photoshoots, and statues of LEGO figures strewn across the mall act as Easter eggs for visitors to find. There are also other interactive touchpoints for wish-making and prize draws.
On 25 January, LEGO held a livestream session on Douyin, offering a sneak peek for people who could not access the pop-up in time. At the same time, they released several new CNY-themed products, including gift sets for the holiday season and also participated in the card-collecting event with Tmall.
LEGO has long been able to successfully localise in China with Chinese-themed sets. The recent expansion into immersive experiences and pop-ups, enables them to tap into the latest experiential lifestyles of the urban young.
