Two years ago on the beginning of spring, the Beijing Winter Olympics opened. With the company of "Bing Dwen Dwen," Chinese people gained their exclusive "Dual Olympics" memories. On the eve of the Lunar New Year of the Dragon, "Long Dwen Dwen" with its "new skin" once again became the top-selling product!

"Long Dwen Dwen" causes queues again

On the day of release of "Long Dwen Dwen" , long queues formed both inside and outside the China Unicom store in the Wangfujing Gongmei Building in Beijing.

According to reports, currently, the overall sales of "Long Dwen Dwen" are booming, with blind box products in high demand. Manufacturers are stepping up production to ensure an adequate supply for the Spring Festival market.

Similar sales frenzy is also occurring in Nanjing. At the flagship store of Qinhuai Gifts in Nanjing, the "Long Dwen Dwen" series of new products continues to sell well, including keychains, badges, and more.

The head of the flagship store stated that nearly 2000 "Long Dwen Dwen" keychains were sold in the past two weeks alone, with many styles and categories in short supply. From "Bing Dwen Dwen" to "Long Dwen Dwen," the transition was more than just a change of appearance. After each Olympic Games, mascots, emblems, and other items become part of the intellectual property of Olympic history. There are few cases where mascot designs are updated. As a member of the "Dwen Dwen family," "Long Dwen Dwen" remains at the forefront even two years after the successful hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics, making it even more remarkable.

In fact, the process of "Dwen Dwen's" "change of appearance" is not as simple as designing new products. If a host city wants to continue authorized operations of Olympic-related merchandise after the event, it needs to negotiate with its local Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. The enterprise must submit an application to the International Olympic Committee, and the local Olympic Committee must grant permission. Only after reaching consensus among all parties can production and sales continue within the jurisdiction of that Olympic Committee. Additionally, if there are new products, their designs must be approved by both the International Olympic Committee and the local Olympic Committee.

The Beijing Winter Olympics coincided with the Spring Festival, and the twelve zodiac animals are an important theme of Chinese New Year culture. After the Winter Olympics, in order to continue the public's love and expectations for "Bing Dwen Dwen," the Chinese Olympic Committee communicated and negotiated repeatedly with the International Olympic Committee. Eventually, they reached a cooperation agreement centered on the historical intellectual property of the Beijing Winter Olympics, enabling the reuse of Olympic historical intellectual property within the jurisdiction of the Chinese Olympic Committee and continuing the story of the Winter Olympics.

Designer Lin Cunzhen introduced: "Usually, the mascots of previous Olympic Games complete their mission after the event and are not updated. But 'Bing Dwen Dwen' is different. We want to preserve it as a vibrant Olympic cultural heritage, extending the brand spirit of the Olympics, which has never been done in Olympic history."

Lin Cunzhen believes that creatively transforming and innovatively developing excellent traditional Chinese culture based on the twelve zodiac animals is a beneficial attempt. "We have grafted Chinese culture onto the Olympic cultural platform. When many foreigners see the 'transformation' of 'Bing Dwen Dwen,' they first find it cute, and then they want to know what the characteristics of their clothes are. For example, what are the meanings behind these different colors? What do the accessories on their bodies represent?"

"If there is an opportunity, we hope to create 'Bing Dwen Dwen' versions for all twelve zodiac animals to meet everyone's expectations. This would certainly be a very meaningful endeavor."

Translator: TANG Yuxin 

Reviewer: BAI Jing