The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2020
Xtep (特步) holds Shaolin's first show at its 1,500-year-old gate — 700M+ exposures
Xtep and Shaolin stage the temple's first-ever fashion show at its mountain gate, with monks, rappers and a Shanghai pop-up — 700M+ exposures in year one
Xtep (特步)
What it had to solve
In 2020, as 'guochao' (Chinese trend) marketing peaked with the Forbidden City and Dunhuang already taken, sportswear brand Xtep wanted its own heritage IP for Gen Z — and Shaolin had never partnered with any brand in its 1,500-year history.
How it works
In June 2020, sportswear brand Xtep (特步) and Shaolin Temple staged '开门见山' (Open the Mountain Gate): a fashion show on the temple's front steps — billed as the first show in Shaolin's 1,500-year history. Monks issued kung fu challenge videos daring the world to 'meet at Shaolin's gate', and stars Xie Tingfeng, Wang Dongcheng and Jing Tian plus sports-and-fashion KOLs answered by posting their own clips.
The June 21 show, livestreamed on Bilibili and Tmall, revealed the co-branded line — named 巭 (gū, 'kung fu person') — with monk performances and 3D-printed concept shoes. Around it Xtep built a full ecosystem: Fan Chengcheng as ambassador, a rap anthem 《见山》 by Wang Yitai, PACT and KIGGA, and a Shanghai Xintiandi pop-up called 「丗」 with zen, martial-arts and archive zones.
The results made it a signature guochao crossover: over 700M total exposures in the first year, Fan Chengcheng topics on Weibo hot search twice with 400M+ exposure and 735K+ interactions, and Shaolin opening its gate to commerce for the first time. Agency Tezign (特赞) framed the work as a long-run IP — 'Xtep martial arts' — and entered it in the 2020 数英奖 content-marketing and crossover categories.
Why it lands
- Choosing Shaolin — a world-famous IP that had never done a brand partnership — gave Xtep uncontested ownership of the cultural story.
- The 'dare you' kung fu challenge let monks and stars pass the ritual to each other, generating content at every hop instead of one big ad.
- A single moment (the gate show) anchored the launch, while livestream, rap, pop-up and ambassador work kept the IP alive across channels and months.
- Borrowing the temple's authentic setting made the show un-replicable — rivals can copy a campaign, not a 1,500-year-old mountain gate.
What it did
First-year campaign exposure topped 700M; Fan Chengcheng topics hit Weibo hot search twice with 400M+ exposure and 735K+ interactions; the show was billed as the first fashion show in Shaolin's 1,500 years, and Xtep turned the collab into a long-run 'Xtep martial arts' IP.
What you can take
Don't rent a heritage IP for one stunt: give it a stage it has never had, then repeat the ritual across products, music, stars and stores, so the brand becomes the custodian of the culture.
Since then
Xtep kept building the Shaolin world after the debut: the 巭 collab line went on sale online and offline, and Xtep Kids' general manager told media the company planned multi-level, long-term IP cooperation with Shaolin. The campaign became a reference point for Chinese brand x heritage crossover and was shortlisted in the 2020 数英奖 (content marketing and crossover categories), with the brand itself framing the temple as a repeatable stage rather than a one-off set.
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