Chongqing- Days after the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games opening, Bing Dwen Dwen, the Games' official mascot, is as appealing to people as athletes' performances, where figurines of the mascot are sold out of stores all over China, including Chongqing.
This animated giant panda with a suit of ice has become remarkably popular amid Beijing Winter Olympics fever.
Bing Dwen Dwen is the official mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics. (iChongqing file photo)
Story behind Bing Dwen Dwen
Bing Dwen Dwen consists of two words in Mandarin, where "Bing" means ice, reflecting the characteristics of the Winter Olympics and symbolizing purity and strength, and "Dwen Dwen" means health, liveliness, and cuteness, fitting the overall image of the panda with the meaning of the strong body and Olympic spirit.
It was designed by a 14-member team from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, led by Cao Xue.
Cao said the inspiration came from the traditional Chinese snack Bingtang Hulu, which is candied hawthorns on a stick, while the shell resembles a spacesuit, meaning to embrace new technologies for a future of infinite possibilities.
People are taking photos with Bing Dwen Dwen. (iChongqing file photo)
The design is based on the panda, which is considered China's national treasure, combining the image of this animal with an ice crystal shell to reflect winter sports and modern technology.
Bing Dwen Dwen's head shape comes from the helmets commonly used in winter sports, and the colorful halo on the face is inspired by the National Speed Skating Stadium, one of the venues of the Winter Olympics.
The red heart in the palm of the left hand represents the warm welcome of China, as the host country, to people from all over the world.
"Its ice shell is cold, but the image looks warm and lovely. I believe this kind of warmth everybody can feel," said Cao.
The first store in SW China
As the official mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, people have to queue for hours to buy Bing Dwen Dwen dolls when it has quickly become the new trend at home and abroad.
"It seems impossible to get the doll online, so I come to the physical store to take a look," said Ms. Liu, a Chongqing resident who saw Bing Dwen Dwen has gone viral on all her APPs.
Chongqing has a licensed retail store for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, located at Hongyadong in Yuzhong District. The store is currently stepping up its production, and the related Bing Dwen Dwen products will be able to restock to the store as early as February 10.
"This is my second time visiting the licensed retail store in Yuzhong, and I pre-ordered a Bing Dwen Dwen doll and decoration," said Mr. Zhang, another Chongqing resident.
The Chongqing store is currently stepping up production of Bing Dwen Dwen dolls. (iChongqing file photo)
As the only officially authorized store in southwest China, Ren Xinli, the relevant staff at the Chongqing store, said that he feels Chongqing locals' enthusiasm for the Winter Olympics and is confident about the city's consumption capacity.
"As an international consumption center city, we have seen the development of Chongqing in the consumption field in recent years," said Ren. "So we chose Chongqing as the first store in southwest China."
In addition to Bing Dwen Dwen dolls, Ren introduced that the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee has developed more than 5,000 peripheral products with a wide range of categories, including badges, toys, keychains, jewelry, and commemorative stamps.
The Chongqing store will remain open until May 1, and online purchases will continue until September 30, said Ren.
International influence
This lovable panda has already gone viral on the media, grabbing the attention of Chinese people as well as foreigners.
Recently, the athletes and journalists from the other countries who are in the Winter Olympic Village uploaded their photos with Bing Dwen Dwen dolls to social media. Many foreign netizens left comments on the post, showing their love and desire to buy.
The out-of-stock of the doll also happened to online shopping platforms. On the auction platform like eBay and the Japanese second-hand website Mercari, almost all of the mascot Bing Dwen Dwen was out of stock. Even some peripheral products have increased in price by more than ten times.