Changsha IFS Third Anniversary Co-creates Guinness World Record, Writes City's Happy Memories
(Changsha, May 2021) On May 7, Changsha IFS celebrated its third anniversary since opening. Over the past three years, as a flagship commercial retail landmark in Central China, Changsha IFS has remained closely connected with the city, staying true to its original vision and continuously bringing new perspectives and experiences from the three dimensions of art, fashion, and culture. Through various types of art spaces and diverse cultural events, it has inspired new lifestyle ideas for the people of Star City and progressed together with the city. On the day of the celebration, Changsha IFS partnered with Chinese contemporary artist YUE MINJUN, the official Guinness World Records challenge, the Alxa SEE Xiaoxiang Center, and the Niccolo Changsha to host a series of celebratory activities. Together with numerous citizens, they successfully set a new Guinness World Record, writing a city memory belonging to Changsha. Additionally, the new Xixi Haha image, co-created by Chinese contemporary artist YUE MINJUN and the contemporary pop culture art platform mARTket, made its debut at Changsha IFS, conveying more warmth, positivity, and uplifting urban energy.
(From left to right: Ms. Tang Fen, Chair of Alxa SEE Xiaoxiang Center; Ms. Zeng Yajing, Marketing and Communications Director of Changsha IFS; Ms. Luo Qiong, Guinness World Records Adjudicator; Ms. Tang Yahang, Executive Assistant Manager of Niccolo Changsha)
452-Meter Hunan Cloud Summit: Citizens Unite to Set Guinness World Record
On the day of the celebration, under the witness of Ms. Luo Qiong, Guinness World Records Adjudicator, Ms. Zeng Yajing of Changsha IFS, Ms. Tang Yahang of Niccolo Changsha, and Ms. Tang Fen of Alxa SEE Xiaoxiang Center led representatives from various media and citizens of Star City to gather at Changsha IFS. Together, they successfully set a new Guinness World Record at the 452-meter Hunan Cloud Summit, creating the city's first international challenge event at the urban level.
(2021, Changsha, Hunan: Citizens unite to set Guinness World Record)
At the special moment of 3:33 PM on May 7, the Changsha IFS anniversary celebration officially began. 399 challenge participants, undeterred by rain, wore matching themed outfits and held balloons. On the 95th floor of Changsha IFS, they assembled a themed smiley face symbolizing joy and positivity, completing the world record for the "Largest Handheld Balloon Mosaic (Image)". This expressed Changsha's innate optimistic city character, showcasing the positive, cheerful, and united attitude of Star City's people. For its third anniversary, Changsha IFS aimed to use the power of smiles to stimulate the city's happy energy, use the power of art to promote urban cultural development, and also preserve important joyful memories for this city of happiness and entertainment culture.
(Challenge participants face the challenge with a positive and optimistic attitude)
(Ms. Luo Qiong, Guinness World Records Adjudicator, announces the successful challenge)
(Aerial view of the successful "Largest Handheld Balloon Mosaic (Image)" world record challenge)
60 Days of Endless Joy: Building New Urban Art Space Experiences
As a nationally renowned entertainment and culture capital and new media art capital, Changsha has always radiated a spirit of openness and optimism, with a unique artistic vision and perception. Smiles are the most infectious expression; the artistic expression of laughter, coexisting and sharing joy with the city, became the core concept of Changsha IFS's third anniversary: "Joy to the Star City, City Power through Starlight." This time, Changsha IFS partnered with YUE MINJUN, a leading figure in Chinese modern and contemporary art, to create the new artistic image Xixi Haha, making its debut in Star City. From May 1 to June 30, based on his well-known classic smile elements and inspired by Changsha's urban culture, the image transforms into various "happy factors" through a younger, more lifestyle-oriented presentation, leading smiles to infect the city. It offers the public a new art experience space, injecting joy, warmth, and hopeful urban energy into Star City Changsha through exploring new ways of artistic dialogue with the city and younger generations.
(LG2 Main Installation: Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Debuts in Star City)
The themed art installation "Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Debuts in Star City" in the LG2 atrium features five new images: "Crayfish," "Goddess," "Selfie," "Relaxing Lying Down," and "Ashore." It creates an immersive three-dimensional maze experience, building seven relaxed interactive zones based on familiar life scenarios. This emphasizes a three-dimensional immersive feel, resembling a true microcosm of urban daily life, further enhancing people's intimacy with the art experience while allowing them to feel an art space full of fun yet not lacking in life atmosphere.
The "Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Global Debut" at the L7 Art Gallery presents another way of showcasing the happy factors created by Changsha IFS for the city and its people. With "laughter" as the core, combined with the new Xixi Haha image created by artist YUE MINJUN this time, it integrates with actual Changsha landmarks to create another composite experience space. Elements such as "LOVE," "LAUGH," and "HAHA" form a dazzling and trendy background. The uniquely interesting experience space, set against the backdrop of Changsha IFS, incorporates the new Xixi Haha image, reflecting the role of Changsha IFS as a "happiness maker." Additionally, 20 artist works featuring nine Changsha landmarks—including Tianxin Pavilion, Aiwan Pavilion, Meixi Lake International Culture & Arts Center, and Xie Zilong Photography Museum—are also on display, symbolizing coexistence and shared joy with the city, spreading happiness throughout the city. Moreover, the Art Gallery offers themed limited-edition merchandise, embedding smiles into everyday objects to bring more warmth to life.
The "Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Giant Installation Art Flashes Across Star City" at the L7 Sculpture Garden features a 6-meter-high giant smiley face installation full of vitality and infectivity. The "Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Creative Sculpture Group" on the L5 outdoor platform consists of 300 crayfish images combined into a creative sculpture group. Due to its fun overhead perspective, it quickly became a new trendy attraction in Changsha, adding joyful accents to the city's artistic atmosphere.
(L7 Sculpture Garden: "Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Giant Installation Art Flashes Across Star City")
(L5 Outdoor Platform: "Joy to Art · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Creative Sculpture Group" – Crayfish)
The "Joy to Star City · YUE MINJUN – Xixi Haha New Image Character Parade" also launched simultaneously. The giant character, "laughing from the heart," is like a walking happy factor. During the event, the parade will also flash across various landmarks throughout the city, spreading joy across all of Star City.
Meanwhile, as an important part of the Changsha IFS third anniversary activities, Ms. Tang Fen, Chair of Alxa SEE Xiaoxiang Center, announced at the celebration the start of a year-long strategic cooperation plan with Changsha IFS. The first launch of this strategic plan—the "Keep the Smile of the Yangtze River – Saving the Finless Porpoise" photography exhibition—will be presented simultaneously on L2. The Yangtze finless porpoise is known as the "smiling angel." A 2017 scientific survey showed that there were only about 1,012 finless porpoises left, making them a rare and endangered protected species. The photo exhibition comprehensively showcases the current living conditions of the finless porpoise and the power of their smiles. Through this exhibition, Changsha IFS hopes to let people feel the infectivity of diverse smiles, raise public environmental awareness, and call on caring individuals to join in the action to protect the "smiling spirit," the finless porpoise.
94,694,400 Seconds of Uninterrupted Cycle: Changsha IFS Celebrates with the City
Three years: 1,096 days, 26,304 hours, 94,694,400 seconds of uninterrupted cycle. Changsha IFS has witnessed the transformation of this city and continuously led Changsha in exploring the boundaries of fashion, art, culture, and lifestyle integration. Staying in step with the development of Star City in multiple aspects—technological progress, economic growth, artistic innovation, and cultural development—it has engaged in innovative collaborations with globally renowned IPs and artists. While striving to explore more possibilities for commercial art space innovation and diverse lifestyles and experiences, it continuously injects rich and varied vitality into Central China and Changsha, while also exporting Changsha's local sentiments and cultural heritage.
The Changsha IFS third anniversary series of activities used the power of art and joy to stimulate the vitality of the city and people's lives, bringing a unique new experience. We look forward to every citizen of Changsha drawing positive strength to face life with a smile from the art. In the future, Changsha IFS will continue to explore more possibilities for urban and commercial public art, create more diverse commercial art spaces, and write happy city memories together with Star City.
