On the evening of February 3, Chinese astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station held the “Auspicious Dragon” and, through video, extended Lunar New Year greetings from Tiangong to the audiences and Chinese communities worldwide. The “Auspicious Dragon” held by the astronauts was manufactured by Dongguan Hugkis Cultural Industrial Co., Ltd., an enterprise located in Chashan Town, Dongguan.
The “Auspicious Dragon” held by the astronauts is the mascot of the “Happy Chinese New Year” in 2024. In addition to being sent to the Chinese space station, recently, the Long March-1 Y3 carrier rocket launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center was also painted with the image of the “Auspicious Dragon”.
“Happy Chinese New Year” is an important cultural brand cultivated and developed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in recent years for overseas promotion. This year, it will host nearly 500 diverse and content-rich exhibition and performance events in over 100 countries and regions worldwide, inviting people from all over the world to share in the festive atmosphere of Chinese culture. As the mascot of the “Happy Chinese New Year”, the “Auspicious Dragon” has also been sent to over 100 countries and regions worldwide, where it will be extensively used in the “Happy Chinese New Year” brand activities. It will convey a festive and harmonious atmosphere to global audiences, bringing new elements and highlights to Chinese New Year celebrations worldwide.
The manufacturer of the “Auspicious Dragon” is Dongguan Hugkis Cultural Industrial Co., Ltd. This is the company’s second time being the exclusive producer of the mascot for the “Happy Chinese New Year” after the Year of the Rabbit in 2023. Due to the successful cooperation and excellent quality of the Year of the Rabbit mascot, as soon as the mascot for the Year of the Dragon was determined, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism immediately confirmed that Hugkis would continue to be responsible for the production and manufacturing of this year’s mascot.
“When we see the astronauts holding the ‘Auspicious Dragon’ and sending Lunar New Year blessings to the global Chinese community in space, as the manufacturer, we feel deeply honored. This is also the first time that Dongguan Art Toy has entered space, which is the greatest recognition for Dongguan as the ‘Capital of Art Toys in China,” said Li Lin, the general manager of the company.
Wen Guoxiong, President of the Dongguan Toy and Juvenile Products Association, believes that this is recognition of Dongguan’s manufacturing. “Both last year’s Year of the Rabbit mascot and this year’s Auspicious Dragon have been sent overseas. This is a great way to promote Chinese culture to the world. The participation of Dongguan enterprises in this work is recognition of Dongguan manufacturing and an important bridge for Dongguan Art Toys to go global,” said Wen Guoxiong.
In recent years, Dongguan Art Toys has frequently gained attention. Dongguan enterprises have been responsible for the production of the “Happy Chinese New Year” mascot twice, and both the Winter Olympics and World Cup mascots were made in Dongguan. According to Wen Guoxiong, this is closely related to the manufacturing strength of Dongguan Art Toys. “Since the reform and opening up, Dongguan’s toy manufacturing has consistently been at the forefront nationwide, accumulating decades of manufacturing experience. Dongguan enterprises successfully undertaking the production of mascots for the Beijing Winter Olympics, Hangzhou Asian Games, and Qatar World Cup is the best proof of Dongguan’s manufacturing strength. Last year, Dongguan was awarded the title of ‘Capital of Art Toys in China,’ which drew national, and even global attention to Dongguan. This attracted more talents in design, creativity, sales, operations, etc., to converge here, propelling the development of Dongguan’s art toy industry to a new level.”
