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Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon

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Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon
Bing Dwen Dwen (left), the mascot of the Olympics, and Shuey Rhon Rhon (right), the mascot of the Paralympics
Mascots of the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2022 Winter Paralympics (Beijing)
CreatorsCao Xue and Jiang Yufan
SignificanceA Giant panda and an anthropomorphic Chinese lantern
Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon
Simplified Chinese冰墩墩和雪容融
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBīng Dūn Dūn hé Xuě Róng Róng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingbing1 dan1 dan1 wo4 syut3 jung4 jung4

Bing Dwen Dwen[1][2] (Chinese: 冰墩墩; pinyin: Bīng Dūn Dūn) is the official mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Shuey Rhon Rhon[3] (Chinese: 雪容融; pinyin: Xuě Róng Róng) is the official mascot of the 2022 Winter Paralympics. The name of Bing Dwen Dwen possibly means ice hulu, as 墩 (Dūn) in its name is a homophone of 礅 (Dūn) in the word 糖礅 in Tianjin dialect, meaning tanghulu, the prototype of the mascot.[4] Both events were held in Beijing, the capital of China.[5][1]

History

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Statues of the mascots at Guichuan Square in Yanqing, Beijing

The mascot design competition was launched on 8 August 2018. A total of 5,816 designs were submitted for further review and ten were shortlisted. The mascots were unveiled on 17 September 2019. Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon were selected over eight other designs.[6]

During the Olympic games, medalists were given a stuffed version of Bing Dwen Dwen at a ceremony immediately after the conclusion of their event, while medals were awarded at a later ceremony combining winners from multiple events.[7]

Some critics of Chinese government say that China has used social media bots and fake accounts to promote the mascot with Chinese media pointing to this inauthentic activity as evidence of the mascot's popularity.[8]

Characteristics

[edit]
Volunteers dressed in costumes of the two mascots at the 2022 Winter Olympics

Bing Dwen Dwen is a giant panda with a suit of ice, a heart of gold and a love of winter sports. "Bing" means ice and embodies purity and strength, the characteristics of the Winter Olympics. "Dwen Dwen", which means health, liveliness and cuteness, conforms to the overall image of pandas and symbolizes the strength, tenacity and inspiring Olympic spirit of Winter Olympic athletes. The colorful ring around Bing Dwen Dwen's face is inspired by the "ice ribbon" of the national speed skating hall of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The heart on Bing Dwen Dwen's palm is a warm welcome to friends all over the world.[9] Bing Dwen Dwen's full-body "shell", which helps the panda to skate, snowboard and ski alongside the Olympic athletes, is a tribute to embracing new technologies for a future with infinite possibilities, the bright colours of the halo around its face are a representation of the latest advanced technologies of the ice and snow sport tracks at the Games, while the heart on its left palm symbolises China's hospitality for athletes and spectators at the Winter Olympics.[10] Some netizens believe Bing Dwen Dwen's design may have also been inspired by the traditional Chinese winter treat tanghulu (糖葫芦) as the suit of ice resembles the clear candy coating.

Shuey Rhon Rhon is an anthropomorphic Chinese lantern. Lanterns represent harvest, celebration, warmth and light. The wishful shape at the top symbolizes auspicious happiness. The continuous pattern of the dove of peace and the Temple of Heaven symbolize the peaceful friendship and highlights the characteristics of the place where the events are held. The decorative pattern incorporates the traditional Chinese paper-cutting art. The snow on the face represents the meaning of "a fall of seasonable snow gives promise of a fruitful year" (瑞雪兆丰年). It also reflects the anthropomorphic design and highlights the mascot's cuteness.

Bing Dwen Dwen is the main Olympic mascot. Shuey Rhon Rhon is the Paralympic mascot.

Artists

[edit]
Statues of the two mascots at the Zhangjiakou Ningyuan Airport

Bing Dwen Dwen was designed by Cao Xue (曹雪), a chief designer at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Cao Xue stated that during the months leading up to the games, he and his design team designing and modifying the mascot and once gave up the idea of a panda mascot due to its prevalence.[11] He also expressed his surprise that the demand for the mascot was so high.[12]

Shuey Rhon Rhon was designed by Jiang Yufan (姜玉凡), an undergraduate majoring in product design at the Jilin Art Institute of Design.[6] Jiang Yufan first submitted mascot designs based on a deer, and a combination of a Chinese knot and a dumpling, but after suggestions from her professors she altered the design to be a combination of a Chinese knot and a red lantern.[13]

Media

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A Bing Dwen Dwen pin

Merchandising

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Stuffed versions of Bing Dwen Dwen have become a very popular souvenir, with stores regularly selling out and people lining up for hours outside stores, sometimes overnight, to purchase them. Scalpers have also been seen purchasing Bing Dwen Dwen merchandise and reselling it for higher prices.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

NFTs

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It was announced on 10 February that 500 epic boxes that would include multiple designs of Bing Dwen Dwen would go on sale the next day via nWayPlay. Each box would be priced at $99, with a maximum of five per purchase and would include three officially licensed digital pins with approved mascot art featuring different winter sports, the official emblem and a poster. Due to their popularity a second round of officially licensed NFTs were announced 17 February, the 200 legendary boxes would be priced at $349, with only one box per purchase. Each legendary box would include a work of art and two pincs.[20][21]

Reception

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A sign outside a shop in Beijing informing customers that their stock of mascots have sold out
Olympic rings
Part of a series on
2022 Winter Olympics
Paralympic agitos
Part of a series on
2022 Winter Paralympics

Stuffed versions of Bing Dwen Dwen become a very popular souvenir, with stores regularly selling out and people lining up for hours outside stores, sometimes overnight, to purchase them.[22][23][24][25][26][27]

Fans of Bing Dwen Dwen expressed outrage over a 8 February interview aired on CCTV where a reporter wore a Bing Dwen Dwen costume to interview athlete Yang Shuorui. Many claimed they would no longer purchase merchandise after the interview as they "don't want to hear the 'uncle' voice of the Bing Dwen Dwen. It's just a little cute panda." The interview video was quickly pulled.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b "北京2022年冬奥会吉祥物阐释". beijing2022.cn. 2019-09-17. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  2. ^ "北京2022年冬奥会和冬残奥会吉祥物揭晓_冬奥会". Beijing2022.cn. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  3. ^ "北京2022年冬残奥会吉祥物阐释". beijing2022.cn. 2019-09-17. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  4. ^ "冬奥冷知识｜吉祥物"冰墩墩"原型竟是冰糖葫芦？！". view.inews.qq.com. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
  5. ^ "2022年北京冬奥会吉祥物亮相 它叫"冰墩墩"". 17 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  6. ^ a b Dove, Abigail (February 10, 2022). "Meet the Olympic mascots at Beijing 2022". CBC Kids News. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Kaur, Brahmjot (February 11, 2022). "The story behind the plush pandas Olympians receive". NBC News. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  8. ^ Myers, Steven Lee; Mozur, Paul; Kao, Jeff (18 February 2022). "Bots and Fake Accounts Push China's Vision of Winter Olympic Wonderland". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Beijing 2022". Explanation of the mascot of Beijing 2022 Olympics. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Beijing 2022 Mascot". Beijing 2022. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Panda 'phenomenon' Bing Dwen Dwen surprises Beijing Olympics mascot designer". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  12. ^ Tan, Huileng (February 7, 2022). "People queued for hours in the freezing cold for Beijing Winter Olympics panda mascot merch only to be told they've been sold out". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  13. ^ Ye, Zizhen; Han, Junhong (February 22, 2022). "Hard work, many revisions made Paralympic mascot". global.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  14. ^ "Bing Dwen Dwen, the Winter Olympics mascot, causes chaos in Beijing as people queue overnight to buy dolls". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  15. ^ Davidson, Helen (8 February 2022). "China to boost supply of Olympic panda mascots amid shortages". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  16. ^ Feng, Emily. "A fluffy panda mascot is all the rage at the Winter Olympics". NPR. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  17. ^ Tian, Yew Lun; Xu, Muyu (5 February 2022). "'I must have one!' The race for mascot merchandise is on". Reuters. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  18. ^ Yan, Alice (7 February 2022). "Winter Olympics: eager fans of panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen make their own souvenirs after stocks sell out". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  19. ^ Barker, Philip (9 February 2022). "Beijing tell disappointed Bing Dwen Dwen fans not to panic and promise more mascots on the way". Inside The Games. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  20. ^ Shen, Xinmei (2022-02-11). "Beijing's Olympics mascot NFTs to open for sale, but not in China". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  21. ^ "Collectors seek Bing Dwen Dwen NFTs". The Manila Times. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  22. ^ "Bing Dwen Dwen, the Winter Olympics mascot, causes chaos in Beijing as people queue overnight to buy dolls". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  23. ^ Davidson, Helen (8 February 2022). "China to boost supply of Olympic panda mascots amid shortages". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  24. ^ Feng, Emily. "A fluffy panda mascot is all the rage at the Winter Olympics". NPR. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  25. ^ "'I must have one!' The race for mascot merchandise is on". Reuters. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  26. ^ Yan, Alice (7 February 2022). "Winter Olympics: eager fans of panda mascot Bing Dwen Dwen make their own souvenirs after stocks sell out". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  27. ^ Barker, Philip (9 February 2022). "Beijing tell disappointed Bing Dwen Dwen fans not to panic and promise more mascots on the way". Inside The Games. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  28. ^ Xiong, Yong; McCarthy, Simone (10 February 2022). "Beijing's cute Olympic mascot was a crowd favorite in China -- until it started talking". CNN. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
[edit]
Preceded by Olympic mascot
Bing Dwen Dwen
Beijing 2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Paralympic mascot
Shuey Rhon Rhon
Beijing 2022 		Succeeded by
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