The Fuwa (Chinese: 福娃; pinyin: Fúwá; literally "good-luck dolls" and can be known as "Friendlies"), are the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The designs were created by Han Meilin, a famous Chinese artist. The designs were publicly announced by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on 11 November 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games.
There are five fuwa: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. Together, the names form the sentence "北京欢迎你", or "Beijing huanying ni," which means "Beijing welcomes you". Originally named 'The Friendlies', they were promoted as 'Fuwa' when there were concerns the name could be misinterpreted
While originally given artistic licence in his commission, Han Meilin was subsequently requested by officials to include various Chinese design and fauna in the Fuwa. Han Meilin drew 1,000 models of possible Fuwa (including a dragon and an anthropomorphic drum) before settling on the five characters. He has since disowned the Fuwa and did not include them in his museum
I was actually in Beijing when they first sold them there in 2005!!! Everyone was there and it was soooo crowded, I bought 2 sets of them
Luxray27 6 months ago
i have the dolls!!! so cute!
Beijing Huan Ying Ni!!!
BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing, and NiNi!
jingmai11 2 years ago
this is too cute! do you know where i can download it to my iphone? thanks.
zhaomz 3 years ago
this is soooo cute!!!!!
Blagello101 3 years ago