2026 | Professional

MUSE Design Awards Gold Winner

Hello Kitty Summer Sweetheart World

Entrant

Dongguan Songshan Lake Mixc One

Category

Architectural Design - Public Art & Public Art Installation

Client's Name

Dongguan Songshan Lake Mixc One

Country / Region

China

About The Entry

Dongguan Songshan Lake MixC is located in the heart of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is the first "park + street" style shopping mall developed by China Resources Land in Dongguan. The surrounding Songshan Lake area is both a national high-tech zone and home to many young consumers who value quality lifestyle. As a result, this location requires not only international retail offerings but also events that can create emotional connections with local visitors. Upper Street is the mall's main outdoor pedestrian walkway. It connects the flagship stores and provides a natural setting for public art installations.

In the summer of 2025, Songshan Lake MixC partnered with the globally renowned IP HELLO KITTY to launch Summer Sweetheart World, the first exhibition of its kind in China. This was Hello Kitty's exclusive appearance in Dongguan and the first time this global icon was deeply integrated with the city's local identity. Rather than simply placing Hello Kitty imagery around the mall, the project linked the character's cute and comforting qualities with Dongguan's transition from "the world's factory" to a more lifestyle-oriented city. The "only here, only now" exclusivity created a gentle blend of global appeal and local relevance.

The exhibition covered more than 2,000 square meters and featured five themed zones along Upper Street: Sweetheart Feast, Dreamy Passage, Chocolate Melody, Sweet Dreams, and Sweetness Machine. The visual highlight was a 10-meter-tall giant Hello Kitty installation that served as the centerpiece of the entire event. Within these settings, Hello Kitty moved beyond being a distant commercial symbol. Instead, the character became a friendly local companion representing innocence, healing, and warmth, inviting visitors to interact lightly and transition from simply observing to participating, and from taking photos to feeling a genuine emotional connection. Upper Street was transformed into an emotional space grounded in "sweetness," where the commercial environment became a generator of shared memories and collective comfort rather than just a place for transactions.

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