New Apple store pop-ups merge traditional culture, gaming and folk art
A poster of the event stands in an Apple-authorized store in Xujiahui.
People can experience traditional Chinese culture online and offline, including the celebration of Chinese New Year, in Apple stores in Shanghai and across China.
Visitors can access paintings, ancient architecture and rabbit lanterns crafts from ancient China in pop-up zones in 3,600 Apple-authorized stores nationwide. They can reproduce game scenes and props on site, based on a popular mobile simulation game "100 Scenes of Jiangnan (江南百景图),” said Coconut Island, the Shanghai-based game developer and event organizer.
The game encourages players to construct Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) cities and watertowns in Jiangnan, regions south of the Yangtze River's lower reaches including Shanghai and Suzhou.
In the game, they can interact with characters from ancient China and experience various folk cultures.
Now the online scenes and crafts are displayed and accessed in the pop-up zones, where people can also play the game and visit related history or art apps.
It’s an “exploration of the integration between traditional cultural and commercial consumption,” said the game firm.
A young lady is making a rabbit lantern in the zone in a store in Xuhui District, Shanghai.
The event has attracted people to visit Apple authorized stores, with rebounded traffic and increased consumption after the pandemic.
Several young people visited one store in MetroCity in Xujiahui of Xuhui District. They tried to make handmade rabbit lanterns with traditional crafts, which is a popular toy for the Lantern Festival on Sunday.
Through the event, the company aims to promote culture and traditional art style to visitors, especially young people. The reproduction paintings of Wumen School, which represents a group of painters living in or around Suzhou in the Ming Dynasty, are also on display in the zones.
The event fits well with Shanghai’s strategy to establish itself as a global eSports capital with a booming game industry and boost economy rebound both online and offline.
Other than this event, Coconut Island joined with KFC and Heytea in online and offline integrated marketing. Meanwhile, the game company has partnered with offline locations and sites in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing to promote Chinese culture and art, including Shanghai Yuyuan Garden and Hangzhou’s West Lake.
