Beijing, the control central of China, is notorious for its pollution: it’s dingy, depressing, and dull (not to mention unhealthy). So we decided to add color to the city to brighten people’s spirits. We wanted to prove that Nippon paint could transform even the most drab of spaces, so we chose Guomao Station, one of the city’s busiest subway stops, as our canvas.

Beijing, the control central of China, is notorious for its pollution: it’s dingy, depressing, and dull (not to mention unhealthy). So we decided to add color to the city to brighten people’s spirits. We wanted to prove that Nippon paint could transform even the most drab of spaces, so we chose Guomao Station, one of the city’s busiest subway stops, as our canvas.

With the help of 20 artists, 50 painters, and 1,500 hours, and 981 cans of Nippon paint, we added color to people’s day with a 100% hand-painted mural that changed five times, every five days, over a month. Each mural, 60 meters on each side of the subway station, celebrated the colorful side of life in China through the following deeply-resonant themes: ‘True Love’, ‘Welcome a Newborn’, ‘Childhood Dreams’, ‘Bold Ambitions’, and ‘Homecomings’.

Our murals certainly made a colorful splash: they were awarded by China Genius (the Chinese Guinness World Book) for “The World’s Largest Hand-Painted Mural” and were so well-received that we were offered an additional month of media worth 1.2 million RMB free of charge to keep them in the subway. Even those who didn't see it in person generated more than 30 million impressions on search and social networks. The murals even inspired a marriage proposal, a video of which quickly went viral with over 1.4 million views, proving that color really can bring happiness to life.