Today, when people talk about LEGO, it is no longer just a children’s toy but a top-tier IP that spans multiple industries.
Recently, LEGO’s collaboration with Nike captivated global audiences. Prior to this, its LEGO brick versions of classic Lamborghini and McLaren models left a lasting impression. Starting in 2025, LEGO Group will also enter a long-term strategic partnership with Formula 1® (F1), creating LEGO sets based on iconic F1 race cars from major teams.
But when it comes to the young, complex, and vast Chinese market, how will LEGO continue to showcase its creativity? Having been in China for nearly 40 years, has LEGO found its winning formula to capture the hearts of local consumers?
As the Chinese New Year—a key moment for engaging Chinese consumers—approaches, LEGO has delivered a striking localized campaign, both in product design and marketing.
Luxe.CO took a deep dive into LEGO’s “New Year Wonder Fair” (Direct translation of 乐高新春妙会) event. At the festival, LEGO lanterns, infused with the festive spirit of Chinese New Year, were transformed into large-scale interactive installations that lit up Shanghai’s Yuyuan Garden. Elements of traditional Chinese craftsmanship—woodblock prints, cloisonné enamel, and dough figurines—collided with LEGO bricks, sparking a delightful fusion of heritage and play.
This Chinese New Year, LEGO is celebrating with its “Playful New Year” concept, using its versatile bricks to build a festive experience unlike any other.
Now, let’s take a closer look at how LEGO leverages localized marketing strategies to win over Chinese consumers.
What Does a LEGO-Style Chinese New Year Look Like?
Located near Shanghai’s Chenghuang Temple, the Yuyuan Folk Art Lantern Festival has become one of the most vibrant and photogenic destinations for Chinese New Year celebrations in recent years, often hailed by netizens as “the pinnacle of Chinese-style romance.”
Stepping into this year’s festival, among the antique pavilions, intricate light displays, and thousands of glowing lanterns, LEGO-branded red archways and lanterns stand out, adding a playful twist to the traditional festive setting. At Yuyuan Garden, a cultural landmark deeply rooted in Chinese folk traditions, LEGO has embraced local customs by setting up its very own “LEGO New Year Wonder Fair,” inspired by traditional temple fairs.
“LEGO bricks are always the language through which we connect with consumers,” said Stella Shen, Vice President of Marketing for LEGO China, during the event.
For this special occasion, LEGO transformed its latest Lunar New Year sets into large-scale interactive installations, using its unique playful approach to reinterpret Chinese New Year traditions. A 1.5-meter-tall LEGO Fortune Cat stood as one of the key attractions. Built with approximately 181,000 LEGO bricks, this masterpiece was crafted by LEGO Certified Professional Builders over 1,180 hours. The model features a sophisticated internal motor and bearing system, enabling the cat’s paw to move up and down in a beckoning motion. Visitors could even build their own LEGO gold ingots and drop them into the “Fortune Cat Wishing Pool” to trigger interactive effects, symbolizing good luck and prosperity.
A giant palace lantern, inspired by LEGO’s Lunar New Year set Fortune & Happiness Turning Lantern, featured six embedded digital screens displaying rotating New Year greetings. Visitors could customize their own personalized blessings on the lantern.
Beyond these large installations, LEGO incorporated Chinese intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements, collaborating with three young artisans to showcase the fusion of traditional crafts and modern play. Woodblock prints were integrated into the LEGO Fortune & Happiness Turning Lantern. Cloisonné enamel pieces served as decorative backgrounds for LEGO’s Floral Art series, featuring plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums. Handcrafted dough figurines appeared to ride on LEGO’s Mythical Qilin Beast, soaring through the clouds.
Additionally, LEGO revamped its authorized stores across China, featuring festive window displays and Lunar New Year-themed in-store decorations, bringing a playful holiday spirit to even more consumers.
Online, LEGO partnered with Alipay to introduce LEGO-themed skins for “Miaowan Forest” and a special Lunar New Year “Five Blessings” card series. The brand also launched custom WeChat New Year stickers and red envelope covers, creating a fully immersive, LEGO-style holiday celebration.
Creativity and Culture Collide: Reinventing Chinese New Year Traditions
Bringing the Festive Spirit into Chinese Homes
LEGO’s Chinese New Year marketing campaign is more than just a promotional event—it is a deep cultural and emotional dialogue.
Chinese New Year is the most significant and cherished holiday in China, making it a crucial time for global brands to engage with Chinese consumers. This is not LEGO’s first large-scale Lunar New Year campaign. Last year, for the Year of the Dragon, LEGO set up an immersive festive fair at Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing, featuring elaborate LEGO-built installations such as dragon and lion dances, a “Playful Fortune Photo Studio”, the God of Wealth, and an ice cream cart, creating an interactive New Year experience.
Above: LEGO’s “New Year Fair” at Taikoo Li Sanlitun during the Year of the Dragon, creatively showcasing classic scenes from LEGO® Chinese Traditional Festival sets.
This year, LEGO has not only continued to deliver a vibrant offline experience but has further upgraded its efforts in venue selection, campaign reach, interactive engagement, and creative depth. The brand continues to explore cultural touchpoints that resonate deeply with Chinese consumers.
These investments highlight LEGO’s commitment to the Chinese market. Shen Minglan, Vice President of Marketing for LEGO China, stated:
“Through events like the ‘New Year Wonder Fair’ and various online and offline initiatives, we aim to offer consumers of all ages a richer and more diverse play and emotional experience. This helps us forge deeper emotional connections with Chinese consumers and expand their perception of the LEGO brand.”
At the heart of LEGO’s Lunar New Year marketing strategy is an emphasis on emotion. The goal is not simply to participate in the intense competition of holiday marketing but to delve into the cultural core of Chinese New Year traditions—capturing the collective sentiments behind the celebration and truly bridging the psychological gap between the brand and its audience.
With this in mind, LEGO crafted the theme “Playful New Year, A Home Filled with Festive Cheer” and launched a brand video, “New Year Wonder Fair at Home”. The campaign encourages consumers to bring LEGO’s imaginative New Year sets into their family gatherings and experience the festive spirit through hands-on creativity.
This concept precisely captures the emotional values shared by both LEGO’s brand philosophy and the essence of Chinese New Year—”joy, creativity, and family bonding.”
The name “LEGO” originates from the Danish words “LEg” and “GOdt”, meaning “Play Well.” Since its founding in 1932, creative play has remained at the core of LEGO’s brand identity.
Meanwhile, Chinese New Year is the most important time for family reunions, filled with tradition, generational heritage, and shared moments. As young people take on a greater role in organizing family celebrations, there is a growing demand for fresh, engaging activities. Sitting together as a family to build a LEGO creation—one that doubles as a striking home decoration—turns LEGO sets into part of cherished holiday memories and a new way to strengthen family bonds.
When a brand’s values seamlessly align with the emotions tied to a holiday, the marketing effort truly resonates with its audience.
Telling Chinese Stories—One Brick at a Time
This year marks LEGO’s seventh consecutive year releasing LEGO® Chinese Traditional Festival sets. The two newly launched sets, LEGO® Fortune & Happiness Turning Lantern and LEGO® Five Blessings for Spring, incorporate the theme of “Playful New Year, Reinventing Traditions” while embedding the auspicious symbols and positive meanings of Chinese New Year.
Above: LEGO® Fortune & Happiness Turning Lantern, inspired by traditional Chinese lanterns. The set features LEGO light bricks and two interchangeable silhouette screens, simulating the movement of a revolving lantern. Inside, a hidden light display showcases a Fortune Deer & God of Wealth animation. The miniature New Year fair scene includes buildable food stalls, decoration booths, shadow puppet performances, and a special Snake Year minifigure.
Above: LEGO® Five Blessings for Spring, incorporating auspicious symbols such as magpies, holly vases, persimmons, gold ingots, calligraphy brushes, and the Chinese character “春” (Spring)—representing prosperity, joy, and good fortune. The set allows for flexible assembly, with swappable fan panels and an adjustable structure to create a “New Year, New Look.”
Both products were co-designed by LEGO’s Danish headquarters and its China team, with input and feedback from Chinese consumers during development.
At the New Year Wonder Fair event, Paul Huang, Senior Vice President and General Manager of LEGO China, highlighted LEGO’s commitment to Chinese cultural storytelling:
“Chinese traditions are a key source of inspiration for our product designs. Over the past five years, LEGO has continuously launched unique China-inspired sets that deeply resonate with Chinese consumers.”
To date, LEGO has developed over 10 LEGO® Chinese Traditional Festival sets and more than 70 LEGO® Monkie Kid™ sets, all rooted in Chinese culture and folklore.
The LEGO® Monkie Kid™ series stands out as LEGO’s only product line inspired by a single country’s mythology. Drawing from Journey to the West, this series introduces original characters and adventure storylines. It has even been adapted into an animated series, airing on Tencent Video, iQIYI, and Youku’s children’s channels.
Above: LEGO® Monkie Kid™ Mythical Qilin Beast.
LEGO’s ability to deeply integrate with Chinese cultural elements and collaborate with fashion, film, and entertainment IPs stems from its core creative design DNA. Recognized by Fortune magazine as the “Toy of the Century,” LEGO’s interlocking brick system has remained unchanged since it was patented in 1958. In 1978, LEGO pioneered the concept of “systematic play,” enabling its bricks to build anything imaginable—significantly enhancing playability and creativity.
Boundless creativity is what makes LEGO bricks so captivating and is also the brand’s key competitive edge. As LEGO deepens its engagement with the Chinese market, the richness of Chinese culture continues to inspire an endless stream of new design ideas. Moving forward, staying attuned to evolving Chinese consumer preferences will be crucial for LEGO to maintain its long-term appeal in China.
Adults Need Play Too: Building Passion Brick by Brick
LEGO’s design-driven creativity grants the brand an unparalleled aesthetic value. While LEGO bricks have long been beloved by children, an increasing number of adults are also turning to LEGO to satisfy their higher-level play needs.
In recent years, LEGO has expanded its product lineup for adults, continuously exploring innovative ways to serve this growing consumer group.
Last September, LEGO launched a new brand campaign in China under the theme “Life is Delightful, Build It with Passion”, encouraging adult players to relieve stress through play and embrace an optimistic approach to life.
As part of the campaign, Olympic swimming champion Wang Shun was invited to serve as LEGO’s “Passion Experience Officer” and co-release the brand’s short film, “100 Reasons to Build”. To further engage adult consumers, LEGO also held a limited-time pop-up event called “LEGO Passion Never Stops” at Beijing 751 Train Factory Square.
Above: Wang Shun, LEGO® Passion Experience Officer and Olympic swimming champion, for the “Life is Delightful, Build It with Passion” campaign.
Above: “LEGO Passion Never Stops” limited-time pop-up event at Beijing 751 Train Factory Square.
As “LEGO-style home décor” becomes a rising interior design trend, LEGO has responded to this emerging demand by extending its product display concepts into the home décor space. Last May, LEGO launched its “LEGO Home Inspiration Guide” for the second consecutive year, hosting an 800-square-meter immersive exhibition along the Xuhui Riverside in Shanghai. The event featured six themed spaces, with interactive displays like “LEGO Wall Art” and “LEGO Pixel Art”, sparking viral discussions across social media and increasing engagement among young consumers.
Above: “LEGO Home Inspiration Guide” limited-time exhibition at Shanghai Xuhui Riverside, showcasing six themed spaces.
With its diverse product portfolio and extensive IP collaborations, LEGO bricks have become a bridge between an adult’s inner world and reality.
The process of building itself is a joyful and stress-relieving experience, while the sense of accomplishment after completion serves as a lasting source of motivation. For adult consumers, LEGO offers more than just the act of creating—it is a medium for self-expression and personal growth, providing a sense of control over life while reigniting passion and creativity.
“Over the past year, we have observed a growing demand for play among adult consumers,” said Stella Shen, Vice President of Marketing for LEGO China. “Through creative building, they explore their self-worth, express their love for life, and envision their future.”
Conclusion
The “LEGO New Year Wonder Fair” is the result of LEGO’s deep understanding of Chinese culture, traditional festivals, and consumer emotions. It preserves the brand’s global perspective while demonstrating respect and appreciation for Chinese traditions.
For LEGO, China is a strategically vital market. 2025 is set to be a milestone year for the brand, with a series of highly anticipated initiatives, including a collaboration with Formula 1 Shanghai Grand Prix to host a play-themed event, the launch of the first-ever “International Play Day” in Shanghai, and the long-awaited opening of Shanghai LEGOland.
As LEGO continues to explore and integrate into the real play scenarios of Chinese consumers, while constantly innovating its experiences, we have every reason to believe that this dynamic and ever-evolving “infinite IP” will continue to collide with Chinese culture—sparking endless creative inspiration.
| Image Credit: Courtesy of LEGO
| Editor: Zhu Ruoyu
