MTR Year of the Horse CNY Shorts | AI-Generated Videos with T Chai

The Year of the Horse is almost here.T Chai puts on new clothes to send New Year wishes.

Late Studio created two Chinese New Year 2026 social media shorts for MTR, using AI-generated video to let MTR mascot T Chai send New Year wishes to passengers. Both shorts start from a single blessing: “馬到糕成” links the Year of the Horse with ma lai go, a steamed sponge cake served in Cantonese restaurants, while “財神到” (the God of Wealth arrives) turns a live-action MTR train into a festive New Year train amid a swirl of red packets. Late Studio handled concept, AI video generation and editing.

Starting from a Blessing | The Year of the Horse and Ma Lai Go

The hardest part of a New Year video is often not the visuals, but first finding a blessing worth saying. 2026 is the Year of the Horse. The team started from the word “horse” (馬) and landed on ma lai go, a dim sum favourite in Cantonese restaurants.

Change one character in the idiom “馬到成功” (instant success) and it becomes “馬到糕成”, a pun on the cake. A snack every Hongkonger knows, paired with a playful blessing, became the starting point of the first short.

The second short started from MTR itself. Trains run across the city every day, so the team turned one into a train carrying good fortune for the New Year, paired with the traditional blessing “財神到”.

T Chai's New Outfits | The MTR Mascot's Chinese New Year Look

With the blessings set, the next step was to dress MTR mascot T Chai for the festive season while keeping him instantly recognisable.

In “馬到糕成”, T Chai wears a red Tang suit. The suit keeps its traditional Chinese frog buttons, with the MTR logo on the chest, giving the classic outfit a touch of MTR.

In “財神到”, T Chai wears a red and gold God of Wealth hat and holds a square “福” (fortune) sign, echoing the auspicious clouds and golden dragon in the background.

Little Details in the Scenes | Restaurant, Steamer and Spring Couplets

“馬到糕成” is set in a Cantonese restaurant hung with lanterns. A bamboo steamer on the table gives off steam, like the start of a New Year yum cha.

The steamer opens and the ma lai go turns into a little horse, with the steamer becoming its seat. Dim sum and the zodiac meet in one frame, so the blessing needs no explanation; viewers get it at a glance.

Finally, T Chai unrolls spring couplets reading “馬到糕成” and “恭喜發財” (wishing you prosperity), wrapping up the whole story in one blessing.

The Hardest Moment | Turning a Live-Action Train into a New Year Train

“財神到” opens with live-action footage of an MTR train, which then becomes a red and gold New Year train. The whole short runs only about 8 seconds. If the transformation between live-action and AI-generated footage felt abrupt, viewers would notice two shots stitched together.

The team's answer was to bring in the red packets first. They swirl through the air and surround the approaching train, hiding the moment of transformation; the train then emerges in New Year livery printed with galloping horses. What viewers see is good fortune brought by the red packets, not a cut between two shots.

The red packets were designed too: one side shows T Chai in his God of Wealth hat, the other “馬年大吉” (good fortune in the Year of the Horse) with a horse pattern. Even if they only flash past, every packet is a blessing from T Chai.

Back to the Start | One New Year Blessing

From the word “horse” to a basket of ma lai go, from a train passing by every day to a sky full of red packets. Both AI-generated shorts run under 10 seconds, and behind them is the same task: turning one New Year blessing into a picture that makes passengers smile.

The two vertical shorts reached passengers on social media during Chinese New Year 2026.

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