The Beijing Winter Olympics mascot evokes China’s long history of “panda diplomacy”

From than 5,800 proposals, a roly-poly panda in a high-tech ice onesie is the official mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter. Olympics. A 14-person design team from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art created Bing Dwen Dwen, a moniker that connotes purity, strength, and liveliness. Notable features include a rainbow around its face to evoke technology, and a heart on its left palm to signal Chinese hospitality.

As in previous years, mascots serve as all-purpose ambassadors during Games, and the leading design motif for Olympic souvenirs and branded merchandise.

Lead designer Cao Xue said that it was a challenge to come up with a new spin on the much-used panda. The winning design, which came with a 100,000 rmb ($16,000) prize, underwent hundreds of tweaks over several months. “We faced greater pressure because there have been many panda images designed in China and the world, ” explained Cao. A panda was also used as one of the five mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

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