Cao Xue, former dean, professor, and master tutor of the School of Visual Art and Design, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, as well as deputy director of the Academic Committee of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and head of the design team for the mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Bing Dwen Dwen, has enjoyed seeing the mascot become famous across the world this year.

Cao led a team from the Guangzhou Art College to design and create Bing Dwen Dwen, which stood out from 5,816 solicitations from 36 countries around the world to be chosen as the Olympic mascot. During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Bing Dwen Dwen won praise for its "peaceful, warm, and lovely" characteristics, which told the world stories about Chinese culture, which also led to big sales of Bing Dwen Dwen-related products around the world.

"What to focus on in the mascot's design was an important question we had to answer. Here, we could've used elk or rabbits, but there was no doubt that a panda was the best choice because it immediately triggers thoughts about China at first glance for everyone across the world," Cao said.

He added that it was a great honor for all the team to participate in the design of the Winter Olympics mascot and that it was the best practical education for the students involved. "I hope it will become a classic part of Olympic history," Cao added.

While he enjoys the popularity of Bing Dwen Dwen around the world, Cao hopes to not outshine the work itself. "Creative labor is always a one-off work,” he said. "In the future, we should not take the initiative to mention Bing Dwen Dwen unless others take the initiative to mention it."

Cao Xue. [Photo/WeChat account: gzhzfb]