(Jrt)
Fuwa
The Fuwa (characters simple:福娃, in traditional characters:福娃, in Pinyin: Fúwá; literally "child of good fortune") are the official mascots of the Summer Olympics 2008 in Beijing. They were announced on November 11, 2005 by the National Society of classical Chinese literary studies, marking the 1000th day before the opening games.
Each of the five fuwa represents the color of one of the five Olympic rings, and his headdress recalls a natural element:
* Bèibei (贝贝): blue mascot in the guise of a fish. Represents aquatics and Wednesday
* Jīngjing (晶晶): black mascot in the guise of a panda. Represents combat sports and forest.
* Huānhuan (欢欢): red mascot in the guise of a flame. Represents sports bullets and fire.
* Yíngying (迎迎): yellow mascot in the guise of a Tibetan antelope. Represents athletics and earth.
* Nīni (妮妮): green mascot in the guise of a swallow. Represents gymnastics and sky.
Taking up the first syllable of each name, you get a pronunciation of "北京欢迎你- Běijīng huānyíng nǐ" ie "Welcome to Beijing". Beijing huanying ni is the name of the song of the Olympics.
The mascots have been accused of plagiarism by a Japanese firm, because they have the same colors and a big head (as is frequently the case on plush), but these mascots simply use the five colors of the five Olympic rings.
Read also Chinese New Year Festival
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