The First Themed Entertainment Train 《Tianjin Fantasy Express》

Project Specifics: Tianjin Fantasy Express – The World’s First Themed Entertainment Train

1. Project Background, Stakeholder Introduction, Budget Scope, Timeline & Official Opening Date

Invested and operated by Tianjin Tourism Group, the train is supervised by China Railway Beijing Bureau, with UNIQUE GROUP as the general design contractor and CRRC Tangshan responsible for manufacturing. Mr. Fei Yang of YFED STUDIO, as Lead Creative Designer, coordinated cross-disciplinary teams over 12 months to deliver this groundbreaking project.

Mr. Fei Yang, Chief Designer and Art Director of YFED STUDIO, acts as the Lead Creative Designer of the entire project. Over 12 months, he coordinated cross-disciplinary teams covering planning, conceptual design, spatial art, immersive media and on-site art direction, successfully delivering this groundbreaking mobile entertainment experience carrier. His rich experience in top international themed entertainment projects (including Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Beijing Resort) enables the integration of international advanced immersive design concepts with local cultural characteristics, which is the core driving force behind the project’s innovation.

Budget & Timeline: Total investment is 38 million RMB (≈5.2 million USD), allocated to vehicle renovation (45%), immersive equipment (35%) and cultural content (20%). Launched in October 2024, it went through four stages and opened officially on October 30, 2025, operating on weekends/holidays across Beijing-Tianjin-Langfang with a 474-passenger capacity.

Core Innovation & Features: As the world’s first mobile immersive themed train, it breaks static LBE boundaries. Ten themed carriages, centered on "Fantasy Time Travel", include retro performance carriages, NPC-led interactive cabins, ICH workshops, a 270° 3D Time Shuttle Cabin and a VIP carriage. It integrates outdoor scenery with indoor immersive tech, realizing personalized, five-sense experiences.

Operation & Recognition: Since opening, it has operated 200+ trips, hosting 38,000+ visitors with an 85% weekend occupancy rate. It drives 12% more visitors to nearby scenic spots, with combo ticket sales at 40%. It has been covered by domestic and international media like Blooloop, winning 4 major awards including the 10th Golden Crown Cultural Tourism Awards.

This project pioneers the "transport + immersive entertainment" track, embedding local culture into a sustainable commercial model. It proves Chinese creative teams can develop world-class immersive formats independently, fitting Blooloop Innovation Award’s criteria of pioneering, replicable and impactful innovation.

Tianjin Fantasy Express, led by Lead Creative Designer FEI YANG of YFED STUDIO, delivers three disruptive, cross-industry innovations that fill long-standing gaps in global themed entertainment and location-based immersive (LBE) sectors, perfectly aligning with the core judging criteria of the Blooloop Innovation Award for pioneering, transformative and replicable innovation.

World-first mobile immersive carrier: breaking the static boundary of traditional LBE spaces: All mainstream immersive attractions globally rely on fixed indoor exhibition halls, theatre buildings or stationary theme park facilities. This project innovatively transforms operating passenger rail carriages into a continuously evolving narrative venue. The whole journey becomes a flowing story space, where outdoor real landscapes along the track dynamically coordinate with indoor projection, lighting, audio and scent systems. The linkage between moving vehicle and immersive media creates an exclusive dual-layer real-virtual immersive logic that cannot be reproduced by any static venue. It pioneers a brand-new "transport + immersive entertainment" track with universal replic

Partners

Tianjin Tourism Group,

China Railway Beijing Bureau.

UNIQUE GROUP

CRRC Tangshan Co., Ltd.

Invested and fully operated by Tianjin Tourism Group, the train was supervised, inspected and guided throughout manufacturing by China Railway Beijing Bureau. UNIQUE GROUP served as the general design contractor, while CRRC Tangshan Co., Ltd. completed detailed engineering design and vehicle manufacturing.

Mr. FEI YANG, Chief Designer & Art Director of YFED STUDIO, took the role of Lead Creative Designer for the whole project.