• Emblem

  

  The official emblem of Beijing 2008 entitled "Chinese Seal-Dancing Beijing" cleverly combines the Chinese seal and the art of calligraphy with sporting features, transforming the elements into a human figure running forward and embracing triumph.

  The figure resembles the Chinese character "Jing", which stands for the name of the host city and represents a particularly significant Chinese style. The artwork embodies four messages: * Chinese culture, * the color of red China * Beijing welcomes friends from all over the world * to challenge the extreme and achieve the perfect and promote the Olympic motto of "Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

  
  

  

• Turkmenistan team

  Athlete	Sport
  Amanmurad Hommadov	Athletics
  Valentina Nazarova	Athletics
  Aliasker Bashirov	Boxing
  Guwanch Nurmuhammedow	Judo
  Nasiba Surkieva	Judo
  Yekaterina Arabova	Shooting
  Andrey Molchanov	Swimming
  Olga Hachatryan	Swimming
  Umurbek Bazarbayev	Weightlifting
  Tolkunbek Hudaybergenov	Weightlifting

  

• Torch

  Number of torchbearers:
  21 800 including 630 in Greece
  
  Total distance:
  137 000 km including 1 528 in Greece and 97 000 in continental China
  
  Countries crossed:
  Almaty, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, London, Paris, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Dar es Salaam, Muscat, Islamabad, New Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Canberra, Nagano, Seoul, Pyongyang, Ho Chi Minh City, Macao. The 2008 Olympic Flame also reached the summit of Mount Everest

  

  

• Mascots

  

  BEIBEI, JINGJING, HUANHUAN, YINGYING, NINI

  NAME
  Each name rhymes by repeating the same syllable: a traditional Chinese way of showing affection to children. Linking the five names forms the sentence “Welcome to Beijing” (Bei Jing Huan Ying Nin). The mascots form the “Fuwa”, which translates as “good-luck dolls”.

  DESCRIPTION
  The mascots correspond to the five natural elements and, apart from Huanhuan, to four popular animals in China. Each mascot represents the colour of one of the five Olympic rings. Each also bears a wish, as it was traditional in ancient Chinese culture to transmit wishes through signs or symbols.

  Beibei the fish is a reference to the element of water. She is blue and her wish is prosperity. The waves on her head are based on a design in traditional Chinese painting.

  Jingjing the panda represents the forest. He is black and his wish is happiness. Porcelain paintings from the Song dynasty (960-1279 AD) were the inspiration for the lotus flowers on his head.

  Yingying, the Tibetan antelope, represents earth. He is yellow and his wish is good health. Decorative elements from Western China appear on his head.

  Nini, the swallow, represents the sky. She is green and her wish is good luck. Her design is inspired by those on Chinese kites. Swallow is pronounced “Yan” in Chinese, and an ancient name for Beijing was “Yanjing”.

  Huanhuan is a child of fire. He is red and transmits the passion of sport as well as symbolises the Olympic flame and spirit. Dunhuang grotto art inspired the decoration on his head, together with certain traditional good-luck designs.

  CREATOR
  Han Meilin

  DID YOU KNOW?

  • The Organising Committee invited graphic designers and communications agencies all over the world to send their suggestions for mascots for the Games and attracted more than 3,000 submissions.
  • A series of 100 cartoon episodes entitled “The Olympic Adventures of Fuwa” was shown on more than 100 television channels throughout China, on the public transport system in Beijing and on China's nationwide rail TV networks.

  

News