A New Fusion of Trendy Toy Culture and Urban Aesthetics: The Story Behind Pop Mart’s Arrival on Central Street

When trendy toy art meets a century-old street, a dialogue about urban renewal and commercial innovation is quietly unfolding in Harbin.

In September 2025, Harbin’s Central Street welcomed a special new addition—the first S-grade flagship store of Pop Mart in Heilongjiang Province.

Opening Ceremony for the Pop Mart Store at the Central Street Baisheng Shopping Center in Harbin

This is not just the opening of a branded store—it’s also a microcosm of the city’s commercial ecosystem upgrade, and an important attempt at deeply integrating trendy toy culture with historic neighborhoods.

As Harbin’s historical and cultural landmark, Central Street has been undergoing a quiet commercial upgrade in recent years. Shifting from traditional retail to experiential consumption and expanding from mere commodity trading to cultural dissemination, this century-old street is now brimming with new vitality.

Behind Pop Mart’s choices lies a deep understanding of this city’s cultural heritage and consumer potential. The brand has not only introduced highly sought-after IP series such as SKULLPANDA, LABUBU, and MOLLY, but has also sown the seeds of trendy toy culture in this fertile land, building a bridge for local consumers to connect with global trendy toy culture.

This collaboration is mutually empowering: brands leverage the city’s historical and cultural heritage to enhance their cultural depth, while cities refresh the commercial experience through the innovative vitality of these brands. This fusion of innovation and tradition represents a new trend in the development of contemporary commercial spaces, injecting fresh vitality into historic neighborhoods.

In this project, we’re honored to collaborate once again with Pop Mart to design and create an artistic facade installation for the Parkson Shopping Center store on Central Street in Harbin.

Art installation at the entrance of the Pop Mart store in Harbin Central Street Baisheng Shopping Center

This marks our second collaboration with Pop Mart. Previously, we provided robotic performance services for the Beijing Pop Mart City Park.

Beijing Pop Mart City Park – Robot Performance

Based on our deep understanding of brand philosophy and years of accumulated technical expertise, we’ve specially designed an artistic storefront installation that seamlessly blends artistry with cutting-edge technology. The SP figure atop the facade is not only equipped with a 24-hour precision rotating dial but also features a dynamic effect: every hour on the hour, its eyes automatically blink and change shape. Meanwhile, the full-hour chime system perfectly marries the timeless art of horology with modern technology.

The SP character on the storefront of Pop Mart stores switches its eye shape at the top of every hour.

These designs not only take visual presentation into account but also place great emphasis on harmonious integration with the architectural environment. The installation height of the mechanical model reaches 4.9 meters, with its top 9.8 meters above the ground, requiring it to perfectly conform to the curved surface of the circular facade. We conducted precise calculations and exact positioning for the skeleton of the mechanical model, ensuring that the installation resonates aesthetically with the building.

At the technical implementation level, we face numerous challenges: How can we ensure installation accuracy under high-altitude working conditions? How can we adapt the mechanical devices to Harbin’s climatic conditions? And how can we guarantee the long-term stable operation of the dynamic system?

The solutions to these challenges reflect our understanding of the balance between technology and art. We employ modeling and simulation to capture precise data on the building’s facade, and through a customized skeletal design, we achieve a perfect fit with the curved facade. We also select weather-resistant materials to address the climatic characteristics of northern regions, and we’ve designed an adjustable system that facilitates easy maintenance and time adjustments in the future.

The SP character on the facade of Pop Mart stores seamlessly integrates with the architecture.

More importantly, we have always adhered to the philosophy of “technology serving art,” ensuring that every technical detail empowers artistic expression and cultural dissemination. The chimes marking the hour not only pay tribute to the tradition of clock tower culture but also offer an innovative experience in modern commercial spaces; the dynamic effects of the SP character both highlight the fun and playfulness of trendy toy culture and add interactive elements to urban public spaces.

The opening of Pop Mart’s Central Avenue store is not merely a commercial event—it’s also a cultural phenomenon. It represents the innovative fusion of new consumer brands with historic neighborhoods, demonstrating that the boundaries between commercial spaces and public art are blurring.

We look forward to, through such collaboration, creating more spatial experiences for cities that combine commercial and aesthetic value, offering consumers a more diversified range of cultural consumption options, and providing an innovative model for urban renewal that can serve as a reference for others.

From Beijing to Harbin, from urban playgrounds to historic districts, we are always committed to leveraging professional expertise and artistic insight to foster a meaningful connection between brands and cities. We believe that true business innovation is not merely about transforming spaces—it’s also about preserving and innovating cultural heritage; it’s not just about refreshing visuals, but rather about reshaping experiences and creating new value.

In this process, we are willing to be quiet guardians and dedicated practitioners, leveraging our expertise and craftsmanship to contribute our part to the richness and diversity of the urban commercial landscape.