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Beijing 2008 Olympic Mascot ‘Huanhuan’
3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
- Title:
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Mascot ‘Huanhuan’
- Designer:
- Wu Guanying, Han Meilin
- Production place:
- China
- Date:
- 2008
- Period:
- 21st century CE
- Title:
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Mascot ‘Huanhuan’
- Designer:
- Wu Guanying, Han Meilin
- Production place:
- China
- Date:
- 2008
- Period:
- 21st century CE
- Material:
- Textile, Paper, Wadding
- Technique:
- Embroidering, Stuffing, Sewing
- Dimensions:
- 33 × 23 × 11.5 cm
The five mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were known collectively as Fuwa, or ‘good luck dolls’. Also known as ‘Friendlies’, their individual names, Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini together form the sentence ‘Beijing welcomes you’ in Chinese.
The mascots correspond to the five natural elements, and their colours to the five Olympic rings. Each one bears a wish, in keeping with ancient Chinese culture, in which wishes were communicated through signs or symbols.
The mascot seen here is Huanhuan. A child of fire, he represents the passion of sport and symbolises the Olympic flame and spirit. His flame-shaped head decoration is inspired by the wall paintings of the famous Buddhist temples in the Mogao Caves, West China.
