The Fuwa (formerly Friendlies [1], Chinese: 福娃; pinyin: Fúwá; literally "Good-luck dolls") are the mascots of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. They were designed by Han Meilin [2] and announced by the National Society of Chinese Classic Literature Studies on November 11, 2005 at an event marking the 1000th day before the opening of the games. The Fuwa consists of five members according to the traditional five elements: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. Each of the five names is designed to look like a plausible name for a small child, but when put together, they sound nearly identical to the phrase "北京欢迎你 Běijīng huānyíng nǐ" which means "Beijing welcomes you". Each of the five figures also represents one of the five Olympic Rings.
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