2008 Olympic Mascots - The Fuwa (GALLERY)

The 2008 Beijing Olympics have been enveloped in unending political controversy so it’s been tough for some sports fans to get excited. Putting those aspects aside, I really love the five Olympic mascots collectively called the Fuwa.

“The cute Fuwa group consists of five members according to the traditional five elements: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini,’ says Ahboon. “Each of the five names is designed to look like a plausible name for a small child, while also achieving a more complex task: when the first syllable of each name is put together, it sounds nearly identical to the phrase ‘北京欢迎你’, Běijīng huānyíng nǐ which means ‘Beijing welcomes you.’” Pretty clever!

I really like these pretty, innocent-looking mascots, and can’t wait to see them at the Beijing games, which are now less than three months away!