Luck seeking – Air China Land of Luck

With it being Chinese New Year, Air China popped up with their pop up Land of Luck in The Bargehouse on London’s Southbank to bring Londoners good fortune and to celebrate the Year of The Pig.

According to Chinese horoscope the pig represents luck, overall good fortune, wealth, honesty, general prosperity, symbolising a hard working, a peace-loving person, a truthful, generous, indulgent, patient, reliable, trusting, sincere, giving, sociable person with a large sense of humour and understanding.

I was cordially invited to attend the press night before opening to the public for one day to see what this pop up was all about.

Air China

Air China has been operating UK routes ever since 1988 when it was established and has a long-held commitment to the successful operative of flights out of the UK.

As of 30 June 2018, Air China and its majority-owned subsidiaries own a fleet of 662 aircraft, comprising mainly Airbus and Boeing models, with an average fleet age of 6.74 years. The company operates a total of 434 passenger routes, including 109 international routes, 17 regional routes (to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), and 308 domestic routes, serving 189 destinations in 42 countries/regions (69 were international destinations, 4 regional destinations and 116 domestic destinations). Through its partnership with Star Alliance, Air China offered services to 1,317 destinations in 193 countries.

The corporate logo of Air China depicts phoenix, a legendary bird worshiped by the nation since ancient times as a symbol of luck and happiness. Chinese ancient literature contains constant references to the bird which “flies from the eastern Happy Land over mountains and seas and bestows luck and happiness upon all parts of the world.” With imagination stretched a bit, the way the logo is laid out recalls the English word “VIP”. The deep red colour is used since it’s associated with anything happy and lucky in Chinese culture. The message conveyed by the whole design is that Air China commits itself to promoting the development of the country’s airline industry and offering pleasant travel experiences to passengers. The phoenix symbolizes a spirit. At the core of the “Phoenix Spirit” is the will to “serve the world, to lead and move forward to higher goals.” Air China vision is to become “A leading carrier in the world”.

Air China Land of Luck

“The Land Your Dream campaign is the latest step in Air China’s commitment to helping Brits land their dreams by connecting business travellers and tourists alike with all the possibilities that China and the rest of the world holds. We are combining this passion with the traditional New Year celebrations, to create the Land of Luck experience that will not only inspire people to achieve their dreams but also give them a lucky head start.”

Jingjie Li, General Manager, Air China UK

Air China took me and other’s on a night of adventure through a multi layered experience giving us all a glimpse of what China has to offer from a range of experiences designed to increase all our fortunes who took a journey through this Land of Luck event. As everything within the Land of Luck was designed to create and curate prosperity, drawing on long held Chinese traditions to offer unique fortune filling experiences.

Checking in with Air China

Upon entering Air China Land of Luck it was off with our coats and time to check-in.

Choosing from a choice of places you can visit within China we was then issued our boarding ticket. 

We was told to scan our boarding ticket every time we found a hidden pig symbol to up our luck.  

Walking through this Land of Luck we were transported into a land of unexpected beauty and opportunity, but, most importantly, luck.

Tea Ritual

The first room I and other guests on the night got to learn about the majestic powers of tea and the rituals that accompany drinking.

Tea expert and star of Air China’s Land Your Dream video, Lera Zujeva was on hand to provide an intimate Tea Ritual Masterclass to enable us to increase mindfulness and achieve balance throughout your day by teaching us ways to breathe in, relax and drink tea.

Taking a deep breathe and shutting my eyes I drank slowly the Red Herbal Evening Sky China Tea.  

Houtouwan

It was then onto exploring a replica of the ghost village Houtouwan, and learning about the mystery of these abandoned houses, before taking a seat for a moment to reflect.

Before exiting I found one of the hidden pig symbols to scan my boarding ticket at.

Zhouzhuang

It was then on and up some stairs and over the bridge of the romantic Zhouzhuang (the Venice of the East) but firstly before crossing the bridge I had to pick a clementine and write a wish on a red tag to hang on the wishing tree on the other side. 

Whilst crossing over the bridge I watched an immersive visual making me feel that I was at the actual canal.

Wishing Tree

After ascending the bridge I was then faced with a magical wishing tree where I hung my wish.  I know I should not say my wish but my wish is to work in a B2B events company, so here’s wishing.  It is said the higher up you tie your wish the more chances of it becoming true. 

Before exiting the room I found yet another hidden pig symbol.

The Lucky Wall

Up a final set of stairs I could smell Chinese food so my stomach started to rumble and my mind drifted even further thinking about China and not London.  Upon entering the room I came to a wall of luck where I discovered the last hidden pig symbol.  This time though after scanning my ticket on the symbol we was told to do three different poses as a gif will be created. 

I was then presented a lucky red envelope.

We were then told our lucky gift we will be on our seat at the table we dine at.

The Lucky Menu

So there it was my gift a cute cuddly panda.

Once seated at one of the large round tables within the room we greeted other press related guests.  After acquainting ourselves with everyone at the table it was time for us to tuck into a mini feast of Chinese delicacies by chef Ching He Huang.

The food was presented beautifully and tasted really good.  I especially loved the spare ribs which were tangy and sticky and the meat was so succulent it literally fell off the bone.

There was also a vegetarian and vegan menu option as well.

The Lion Dance

During feasting we was greeted by dancing lions which is over 2,000 years old.

These dances are only ever performed on certain dates of celebration.  The lion is a symbol of power and wisdom and the dance is designed to chase away any evil spirits and any guests the lions interact with will bring them good luck!  Alas the lions did not interact with me.  

Lucky Knots

After eating at our table were taught how to tie lucky knots which bring blessings, especially when shared with a friend.

Verdict

This event was certainly unique and fun.  It really did give me an insight to what I could potentially experience if I went visiting one of the many places within China.

I found the experiences of learning how to enjoy tea interesting, loved crossing the bridge, making my wish at the wishing tree, enjoying the ancient traditional Chinese lion dance and indulging on a mini Chinese feast.

However I would of liked to of perhaps experienced what an Air China flight could be like if I booked with Air China.  As when I visited Air Canada pop up Poutinerie a few months back they had a virtual reality experience where you could experience what it would be like if you sat within any of the sections on board the plane from economy to Business and what food you could possibly get served on a flight.

Did you know that Air Canada partnered with Air China back in 2018 which will increase flight cooperation between the two airlines.

The big question though is after visiting Air China Land of Luck will it of upped my luck and improved my chances of landing all my hopes and dreams for this year?

Air China flown on out

The Land of Luck only popped up for two days (8th / 9th February) with one night only being open to press and social media influencer’s like me.  The day was split by group sessions which started every 30 minutes, with each session lasting an hour allowing guests to roam freely around all the different zones of the experience.  Tickets cost £10 and were available through http://www.universe.com.

Thank you Air China for the complimentary invite . If I ever fancy taking a trip to China I will certainly look at booking a flight with yourself. All views are my own honest opinion.