CBN Friday Special丨Panda-mania: What’s behind the global frenzy of Bing Dwen Dwen?

S: Hi everyone. Welcome to CBN Friday Special, I’m Stephanie LI.

R: And I’m ZHANG Ran. As we enter the second week of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Bing Dwen Dwen, the official mascot, is as appealing to people as athletes’ performances. Today, we’ll be exploring the charm of the panda astronaut.

S: Bing Dwen Dwen is the without doubt a superstar of this year’s Winter Olympic Games, both at home and abroad. Figurines of the mascot are sold out of stores all over China. According to the flagship store, daily sales of Beijing 2022 merchandise hit a record high of nearly 3 million yuan last Friday, two days after the opening ceremony. 

R: Bing Dwen Dwen is as popular on Twitter, in fact. Since Beijing 2022 officially opened, the hashtag “Bing Dwen Dwen” has been trending on Twitter with a panda-shaped emoji customised for the mascot. People from around the world are longing to get its figurine, as some resellers price “Bing Dwen Dwen” for more than 10 times of the original price overseas.

S: And I remember seeing a video, in which Prince Albert II of Monaco received a dough figurine of Bing Dwen Dwen, before asking for another one because he’s the father of twins.

R: And speaking of big fans of the cuddly mascot, Japanese journalist Gido Tsujioka made his name known by many Chinese viewers after a sequence of video clips of Tsujioka went viral on the Chinese internet, which showed how he “showed off” his collections of Bing Dwen Dwen badges, met it in person and excitedly promoted the mascot to Japanese audience. The announcer from Japan’s NTV has now earned himself a nickname “Gido Dwen Dwen.”

S: I’m jealous, at least he’s got a Bing Dwen Dwen collection, while most of us are still trying to get ours. But as manufacturers of the mascot products are resuming operations after the Chinese New Year holidays to meet the explosive demands for the popular panda, the supply will gradually keep up.

But Ran, do you know that there’s actually a way you can get a Bing Dwen Dwen figurine for free?

R: What? How?

S: You can get a free limited-edition Bing Dwen Dwen by — winning an Olympic medal! Each medalist receives one with golden embroidery.

R: Oh, you mean the “Golden Dwen Dwen.” Didn’t see that coming. Since that’s quite an impossible option for me, Stephanie, would you tell us more about the mascot? What’s behind its design?

S: Of course. The fuzzy face of the smiling panda is surrounded by a colourful halo, which represents the five colours of the Olympic rings. It's also inspired by the National Speed Skating Oval of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is affectionately called the "ice ribbon", with flowing lines of bright colours symbolising the winter sports track and 5G technology.

Bing Dwen Dwen is protected from the cold by a clear shell, inspired by the protective helmet in winter sports, making the popular panda resemble an astronaut, looking into the future. Melting the winter chill with welcoming warmth, the panda waves in greeting, with a heart in the middle of his left paw.

R: Cao Xue, the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts professor who’s in charge of the Bing Dwen Dwen design team, said in an interview that “hopefully Bing Dwen Dwen will become a classic and leave lasting memories in Olympic history.”

S: And so it will. Insiders believe the Beijing 2022 mascot is a great combination of Chinese culture and the Olympic spirits, and the fervour for Bing Dwen Dwen represents Chinese people’s increasing enthusiasm towards winter sports. Behind every purchase also indicates their pride in the nation's achievements and their sense of belonging to the nation. Bing Dwen Dwen is in fact an epitome of China's significant development—that is what Chinese are truly enthusiastic about.

R: Bing Dwen Dwen is using its charm to bring international guests "together", as is expressed by the Olympic motto, "Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”. Behind the "panda" phenomenon is China's enhanced cultural confidence and a grand vision of a harmonious global village.

S: While appreciating the fluffy and lovable panda, let’s wait and see what Shyue Rhon Rhon would bring to the world. The Chinese lantern child is the mascot of Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, which will open on March 4.

R: Right, on a different note, the Chinese stocks closed lower on Friday with lithum battery and photovoltaic stocks recording losses, as the ChiNEXT index tumbled 2.84 percent. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.66 percent, the Shenzhen Component lost 1.55 percent. The Hang Seng Index edged down 0.07 percent with pharmaceutical and automotive stocks tumbling the most.

北京冬奥会进入第二周，在赛场之外，吉祥物“冰墩墩”更是红遍海内外。不仅国内线上线下全线售磬，连国外购物平台上也“一墩难求”，成为了“国际顶流”。

冰墩墩不仅网上发售秒光，线下门店更是排了几百米长队。微博上，#如何拥有一只专属冰墩墩#、#冬奥官方店冰墩墩卖光了#等多个相关话题冲上热搜，冰墩墩成为了名副其实的冬奥“顶流”。

当然，还有一个免费获得限量版冰墩墩的办法——北京冬奥会赛场上每位登上领奖台的运动员，都能得到一个定制版“金墩墩”，实现“人均一墩”。这款特别版冰墩墩周围有一圈以“岁寒三友”松、竹、梅编成的金色花环，表达对获奖运动员的称颂、敬意和美好祝福。

而在海外社交平台上，自冬奥会开幕，“#冰墩墩”词条就在话题榜上居高不下，推特还为话题加上了定制的熊猫图案。国外搜索引擎趋势显示，包含关键词“BingDwenDwen”的搜索量自今年2月3号开始就迅速暴增。

在日本、英国、美国的二手销售平台上，冰墩墩的价格也水涨船高。2月5日，摩纳哥阿尔贝二世亲王在北京体验面塑制作，请求工作人员为他制作两个冰墩墩，因为他是一对双胞胎的父亲。

而日本电视台记者辻岗义堂对冰墩墩的狂热喜爱，使他近日在中日两国走红，被中国网友亲切称呼“义墩墩”。辻岗义堂在一段电视出镜报道时，展示自己数个冰墩墩徽章，还追着冰墩墩合影等等的举动，收获了许多中国网友的关注。

冰墩墩的整体形象则酷似航天员，头部外壳造型取自冰雪运动头盔，装饰彩色光环，灵感源自于北京冬奥会的国家速滑馆——“冰丝带”，流动的明亮色彩线条象征着冰雪运动的赛道和5G高科技。

冰墩墩的设计团队负责人，广州美术学院视觉艺术设计学院院长曹雪说，冰墩墩给人带来温暖、可爱和萌的感觉，他希望这种温暖的记忆留下来，希望冰墩墩成为一个经典，给人留下深刻记忆。

冰墩墩的成功表明，我们可以在某个场景或故事中创造出一个让全球欢迎的IP，这有赖于观念与意识的提升，摆脱赋予设计之外的过多东西，回归到人类本真的需求。我们现在需要一套与国际接轨的规则体系为文化产业做好支撑。我们可以做得更好，但需要新的商业文化与规则体系。

北京冬奥会将于2月20日闭幕，北京冬残奥会则将于3月4日开幕。以灯笼为原型的吉祥物“雪容融”，也将接棒“冰墩墩”，继续向世界展现中国传统文化与冰雪运动的交融。

最后来看一下今天股市收盘情况。周五A股集体回调，沪指收跌0.66%，深成指跌1.55%，创业板指跌2.84%。锂电、光伏等赛道板块继续下跌。港股恒生指数跌0.07%，医药、汽车板块跌幅居前。

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI, ZHANG Ran

Writer: Stephanie LI, ZHANG Ran

Producer: XIANG Xiufang

Sound Editor: ZHANG Ran, Andy YUAN

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Wanni

Co-produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News & SFC Audio/Video Dept.

Presented by SFC

编委:  于晓娜

策划、编辑：李艳霞 

播音：李莹亮、张然

撰稿：李莹亮、张然

监制：向秀芳 

音频制作：张然

设计：郑文静、廖苑妮

21世纪经济报道海外部 南财音视频部  联合制作

南方财经全媒体集团  出品