Fuwa,theofficialmascotsoftheBeijing2008OlympicGames,drawtheircolorandinspiration*fromthefiveOlympicrings,andcarryamessageoffriendshipandpeace——andblessingsfromChina——tochildrenallovertheworld.

　　Designedtoexpresstheplayfulqualitiesoffivelittlechildrenwhoformanintimate*circleoffriends,Fuwaalsoembody*thecharacteristicsoffourofChina’smostpopularanimals——thefish,thepanda,theTibetanantelope,theswallow——andtheOlympicflame.

　　EachoftheFuwahasatwo-syllablename——atraditionalwayofexpressingaffection*forchildreninChina.Beibeiisthefish,Jingjingisthepanda,HuanhuanistheOlympicflame,YingyingistheTibetanantelopeandNiniistheswallow.

　　Whenyouputtheirnamestogether——BeiJingHuanYingNi——theysay“WelcometoBeijing,”offeringawarminvitationthatreflectsthemissionofFuwaasyoung*ambassadorsfortheOlympicGames.