olympics 2008 - beijing welcomes you

the five friendlies: Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni will be representing china to spread its unique olympics theme of "one world, one dream" throughout the globe. these adorable friendlies are in fact symbols of five different playful children, aiming to unify world peace and friendship through the olympic spirits. the combination of the five friendlies' names "Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni", meant beijing welcomes you in chinese.

in fact, each of the friendlies carries different meanings: Bei Bei is a fish representing prosperity, great career achievements, surplus and good life. originally from the sea, she is strong in water sports and reflects the blue olympic ring. Jing Jing is a panda, signifying happiness and the harmonized relationship between human and nature. being the chinese national treasure, he has a duty to preserve the beauty of nature for all generations. Jing Jing is an athlete full of strength and symbolizes the black olympic ring. Huan Huan is the olympic flame that characterizes the excitement and passion for sports. he acts as the messenger of the entire chinese population to deliver warm invitations from Beijing and wishful blessings worldwide. being the big brother of the friendlies, Huan Huan is great at ball games and reflects the red olympic ring. Ying Ying is an antelope symbolizing good health. growing up in the qinghai-tibet plateau, he is strong in track and field events and therefore represents the yellow olympic ring. the design of Ni Ni's figure is inspired by the traditional golden-winged swallow kite. she is a swallow representing the best luck. the chinese pronunciation of swallow is "yan", and yanjing happened to be the ancient name of beijing. Ni Ni is strong in gymnastics and reflects the green olympic ring.