Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu built a virtual temple inside WeChat

Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu pairs over a thousand years of history with cutting-edge modern retail; the challenge was to capture and reimagine that sense of place so it could be experienced from anywhere, while showcasing the brand's contemporary experiences and reputation as a patron and collector of the arts.

A digital sanctuary inspired by the ancient Daci Temple — three interactive spaces built as a virtual gallery on WeChat.

Le Polish Bureau pushed the limits of mobile web browsers: motion graphics accessible on any device, custom level-loading mechanisms to manage memory consumption, optimized game and physics logic, and a Next.js screenshot feature that merges both sites into one image. The temple's rituals structure the journey — releasing a koi, interactive singing bowls, water meditation — with custom sound by TwoAM.

The Temple launched on WeChat as a virtual gallery and exhibition space created for Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu by Superunion and digital studio Le Polish Bureau with a team of international artists — a sanctuary for digital arts and self-expression inspired by the ancient Daci Temple next to the retail district.

It divides into three areas — The House of Light, The Blossom Garden and The Infinity Tower — whose interactive experiences are modeled on the temple's rituals: releasing a koi, interactive singing bowls, water meditation. The design folds in digital art influenced by surrealism, inviting visitors on a journey of self-discovery through colour, texture and form.

The craft was in the constraint: 'We pushed the limits of what is possible on mobile web browsers while keeping the experience fun and easy to use. A difficult but essential art,' said Maciej Zasada, managing director of Le Polish Bureau, whose team built custom level-loading to manage memory and optimized game and physics logic for performance. 'Our challenge was to capture and reimagine this sense of place, so it could be experienced from anywhere,' added Tim Brown, creative director at Superunion.

The concept maps a physical place onto digital behavior: temple rituals become interactions, so the space feels inhabited rather than rendered.

It carries the brand's actual identity — a retail landmark defined by its relationship to a thousand-year-old temple — instead of a generic metaverse showroom.

The engineering brief was real: an immersive, interactive world that still runs on ordinary phone browsers is where the audience already is.

WeChat as the host platform put the gallery where Chinese audiences live, with curated products and experiences one tap away.

A sense of place can be rebuilt as interaction: translate a landmark's rituals, not its facade, and the place travels anywhere.