Tag Archives: Olympics

Beijing Olympics – Fuwa Statues

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gongfu_king posted a photo:

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Giant Fuwa statues ready to celebrate the Beijing Olympics. They seem to be wrapped in plastic, so I guess they are brand new, ready for the celebrations.

The Fuwa are the official mascots of the Beijing Olympics. There are five of them and their names are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini. Drop the doubles and string them together and it makes Beijing huanying ni, which means welcome to Beijing (literally Beijing welcomes you).

Everyone in China seems to love them and their image is everywhere: on billboards, posters, school bags, keyrings, products, everywhere! You can’t escape them. It’s amazing the enthusiasm they inspire.

If you want more information on Fuwa, check out Wikipedia’s entry on them.

Birds Nest Olympic Stadium

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The Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing is one of the most photographed structures in the world. I’m sure I’ll come across many more photos of the stadium in the coming months, leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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Birds Nest  IMG_5881
photos by céd

In terms of capturing the stadium itself, these photos aren’t that great, especially when compared to many others that I’ve seen. You can’t see the whole stadium. The fence is in the way. You can’t see much of the sky, but it seems to be smoggy.

But despite that, these photos really work.

I really like the way that céd has captured people and vehicles in the foreground. That adds a lot of interest to the picture. I especially like the photo with the soldier and the one with the bulldozer.

These photos definitely work well as a set. Each picture works well by itself, but together, they add something to the whole.

Beijing Olympic Relay Torch

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leah.jones posted several photos of the Olympic Relay Torch:

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Amazing photos by someone who actually got to hold an Olympic Relay Torch. It doesn’t look particularly Chinese to me, but it does look really cool. All I can say is that it looks amazing and I’m jealous!

It’s hard to believe that these torches have been the centre of so much attention. It’s a real shame that there’s been so much negativity around the Olympic Relay – this should have been a really joyous event.

Beijing Supermarket Awesomeness

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This is fantastic. A supermarket with lanes painted down the aisles! This supermarket is obviously getting into the Olympic spirit. I’m sure we’ll see all sort of craziness in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics.

supermarket awesomeness
photo by Denn

The posters of athlete jumping hurdles, hanging from the ceiling, really make this picture.

On a side note, that aisle is really wide. I’ve certainly seen supermarkets in China with such wide aisles, but it’s not the norm. More often than not, the aisles are pretty cramped. I wonder if they widened the aisles especially so they could add the lanes? I wouldn’t put it past them.