China unveiled the official mascots (Bing Dwen Dwen and Shuey Rhon Rhon) on Tuesday for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympic Games.

"Bing Dwen Dwen" is an animated giant panda. Bing means "ice" in Chinese, while Dwen Dwen suggests "health and ingenuity"－characteristics also shared by pandas.

"The mascots are designed to express the full spectrum of the Olympic spirit, encompassing traits such as passion, perseverance, friendship and mutual understanding to actively engage the public." IOC President Bach expressed his delight at the design of the Olympic mascot.

The unveiling of the mascots marks the culmination of a journey that began in August 2018, when BOCOG launched a global design competition for the mascots.

A total of 5,816 submissions were received from 35 countries. The final Paralympic mascot chosen was designed by a 14-person team from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

People might feel curious about how designers from Guangzhou, where it hardly snows, managed to create a mascot for the Olympic Winter Games.

"I told my students that the fact they have never seen real snow actually frees up their imagination," said team leader Cao Xue, director of the Visual Art department.

Compared with the traditional image of a panda, Bing Dwen Dwen is quite a different interpretation. It is designed with the panda as the base but with the ice shell, reflecting the characteristics of winter ice and snow sports.

Cao further said that, this mascot seems to be very cute and cool, but it's hoped that it will become a tool to communicate with the people of the world.

"It will be a wonderful ambassador for China and Beijing 2022," Bach added.

Reported by Will

Edited by Simon