At 8 p.m. on 4, February, The Beijing Olympic Winter Games kicked off in a spectacular celebration of light and color at the Beijing National Stadium. It is an important step on Beijing’s journey to make history as the first city ever to host both summer and winter editions of the Olympic Games. Bing Dwen Dwen, the amazing neon-lit mascot of the Olympic Games, appeared at the center of the stage as one of the highlights of the Opening Ceremony.
2月4日下午8点，北京冬奥会在灯光秀的视觉盛宴中拉开序幕，在国家体育场隆重举行。这也意味着北京由此成为历史上首个“双奥之城”。冬奥的霓虹吉祥物冰墩墩也出现在舞台中央，是开幕式的诸多亮点之一。
On 5, February, also the following day after the Opening Ceremony, shoppers lined up regardless of the bitter pre-dawn cold to buy licensed souvenirs, especially merchandise featuring Bing Dwen Dwen, only to be asked to come back after several days when stocks replenished. These souvenirs were sold out both online and at the flagship store in downtown Beijing’s Wangfujing shopping area. Many customers came away empty-handed from the race. The giant panda dressed in the shell of ice is definitely a rising star remaining in the spotlight. The Bing Dwen Dwen craze has also become a trending topic on both Chinese and foreign social media platforms, and thus hard to get.
2月5日, 也就是开幕式后一天，还在黎明之前，顾客们就不顾寒冷，早早排着长队前来购买冬奥纪念品，尤其是与冰墩墩相关商品，但被告知人气商品已全部售罄，请过几天补货后再来购买。这些纪念品不管是在线上店还是在线下北京王府井旗舰店都被抢购一空，许多顾客空手而归。不管是对华人还是外国友人来说，这个穿着冰晶外壳的大熊猫真可谓是抓足眼球的新星，让人一“墩”难求！
Do you know the design story behind the stunning mascot? In 2019, The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) launched the much-anticipated final Olympic mascot Bing Dwen Dwen and Paralympic mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon, in a glittering ceremony at the Shougang Ice Hockey Arena. Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon, as the represents of Olympic and Paralympic spirits combined with Chinese culture, were chosen from 5,816 submissions in total. They were respectively designed by teams from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and Jilin University of The Arts. Professor Cao Xue, also the main designer of Bing Dwen Dwen, claimed that he was amazed by Bing Dwen Dwen’s speed of going viral and their team also had difficulty in purchasing souvenirs of the chubby panda.
你知道吉祥物冰墩墩背后的设计故事吗？在2019年，北京冬奥会和残奥会组委会在首钢园区冰球馆发布仪式，揭晓了备受期待的冬奥会吉祥物冰墩墩和冬残奥会吉祥物雪容融。冰墩墩和雪容融，作为结合了中国文化的奥运精神的象征，从总数5816件的设计方案中脱颖而出。两者分别由广州美术学院和吉林艺术学院设计。而冰墩墩的迅速走红也让其主设计者曹雪教授感到惊讶，表示他们的团队甚至也没有渠道买到冰墩墩这个胖乎乎的熊猫。
The organizers of the Beijing Olympic Games turned to an old friend when picking a mascot: the panda. In 1900, Asian Games was held in Beijing, with the mascot Panda raising a medal. In 2008, when Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics, the organizers chose a panda as one of the five official Fuwa—JingJing. As a well-known national treasure and one of the most iconic animals in China, the panda is not only considered to be a diplomatic tool and Chinese symbol but also enjoys love across the globe.
实际上，在选吉祥物这一方面，北京奥运组委会是熊猫的老朋友了。1900年，北京亚运会吉祥物是举着一块奖牌的熊猫。2008年的北京奥运会上五福娃之一的晶晶也是熊猫形象。作为标志性的国宝动物，熊猫不仅仅被奥运组委会作为外交时的象征所偏爱，更是被世界人民所喜爱。
In reality, the original submission from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts was designed in the prototype of Tanghulu, a Chinese food of candied haws on a stick. The protective layer of ice was a bit related to winter sports. Later, the creativity of the ice shell was preserved, and the modification was turned gradually to focus on a panda wrapped in the ice layer through numerous explorations. The judging panel Jiang Xiaoyu said, “as long as they see the panda, they’ll know it symbolizes China without any superfluous explanations.” The design team, therefore, set up a specialized group to collect all the artistic panda photos and albums to analyze their features. Ultimately, the highly adorable national figure with an air of future infinite possibilities, wearing a suit that was decorated with a colorful ice ring of light and was indicative of an astronaut, came to attack the public.
广州美术学院设计团队最初的作品是“冰糖葫芦”，而糖葫芦外表的“冰壳”也与冰雪运动“或多或少有些联系”。后来“冰壳”的创意得以保留，随后又经过无数次的探索，修改重点终于逐渐明朗——被冰壳包裹着的的大熊猫。评委会主席蒋效愚说，“国际上看到熊猫，就知道它代表中国，不用任何语言解释就会被认同”。为此，广美设计团队专门成立了一个资料组，把能收集到的全部熊猫相关画集进行对比分析。最终，在“冰丝带”的融合下，一个酷似航天员，带有未来科技感的国宝跃然出现在公众面前。
It then came to schedule about its name. Tanghulu, pronounced “Tang dun er” in northern city Tianjin’s accent, features a sense of affection and affability in chilly winter and makes people feel as robust and lively as amid the neighbor’s kids. However, organizers found that southern Chinese people and foreigners are not easy to pronounce “Bing Dwen Er” with r-suffixation in Mandarin and changed its name to Bing Dwen Dwen. “Bing” means ice and also symbolizes purity. “Dwen Dwen” represents chubby, healthy, and active children and also fits in the accustomed panda image. The mascot embodies the strength and willpower of athletes and will help to promote the inspired Olympic spirit.
起名字随后也提上议事日程，冰糖葫芦原来叫糖墩儿，“墩儿”有一种北方冬天的特点，特别亲切，像邻家小孩一样活泼、可爱。后来发现，南方人和外国人很难读出“墩儿”，就改成了冰墩墩。“冰”是冰雪和纯洁之意，“墩墩”则意味着敦厚、健康、活泼的孩子，契合熊猫整体形象，象征着冬奥会运动员强壮的身体、坚韧的意志和鼓舞人心的奥林匹克精神。
Zhao Weidong, a spokesman for the Beijing 2022 organizing committee, said, “as to the problem of purchasing souvenirs, our organizers have stepped up coordination to cope with the abrupt popularity to boost the supply of the mascot. Besides, the Paralympic mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon also needs the spotlight and is ready to welcome friends from around the world.”
北京冬奥组委会新闻发言人赵卫东说，“对于‘一墩难求’的问题，北京冬奥组委正在抓紧协调，加大供应。另外我们也想提醒大家，除了关注冰墩墩之外，还要关注雪容融哦。”
The glow of our mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon emanates in characters of its name and wishful shape. The first Rhon means “to tolerate, embrace” and the second Rhon represents “warmth”, with one of the connotations being that we are looking forward to embracing and warming friends around the globe for the mega event, just like Shuey Rhon Rhon holding hands with Bing Dwen Dwen. It is the same as the connotations of its shape—lanterns. The deep Chinese red of its body symbolizes the Chinese New Year of 2022. Its round shape, the same pronunciation as “reunion” in Chinese, eliminates the tiredness of every family member returning home in the Spring Festival. Using traditional lanterns in Para Winter Games embodies that we take people of different races as our family members and we see the Games as a reunion and new start after suffering such a monstrous disaster —COVID-19.
残奥会吉祥物雪容融名字和身形都有其特殊含义。“容”代表了包容和拥抱世界的不同，“融”表示温暖。“容融”的涵义之一便是我们期待着在冬奥这场盛会中拥抱和温暖来自世界各地的朋友，就像雪容融与冰墩墩牵着手一样。它的形状——灯笼也同此，灯笼的中国红有新年的喜庆气息，圆圆的身形就像“团圆”，寓意着返家团聚，归家的人们也在万家灯火中卸下奔波与劳累。残奥会中使用中国传统灯笼形状的吉祥物意味着我们将不同民族的人民看作家人，把奥运看作是疫情下的一次团聚与新开始。
The warmth of Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon will linger on. Let’s manage the unprecedented success and classic of the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, as well as anticipate the promising future!
冰墩墩和雪容融带给人们的温暖将常驻人心。让我们共襄盛举，擘画未来！
Date: Feb.18
