TheFuwa(福娃;literally"good-luckdolls"),formerly"Friendlies",arethemascotsofthe2008SummerOlympicsinBeijing.ThedesignswerecreatedbyHanMeilin,afamousartistinChina.ThedesignswerepubliclyannouncedbytheNationalSocietyofChineseClassicLiteratureStudiesonNovember11,2005ataneventmarkingthe1000thdaybeforetheopeningofthegames.Theywereoriginallynamed"TheFriendlies",butthisnamewasdroppedasChineseofficialswereworriedthatitwouldbemisunderstoodas"friendless"or"friendlies."

　　CurseoftheFuwa

　　MascotsondisplayinBeijingInthemonthsleadinguptotheOlympics,theInternetcommunityhaslinkedtheFuwatovariousdisastersthathadoccurredinChina.Thisinformationcannotbeproven.

　　Nini,（妮妮）akite,hasbeenlinkedtothe"kitecity"ofWeifang,inShandong,wheretheT195trainaccidenttookplace.

　　Yingying,（迎迎）atibetanantelope,hasbeentiedtothe2008Tibetanunrest.

　　Huanhuan,（欢欢）acharacterwithflame-redhair,hasbeenlinkedtothemanyprotestsalongtheSummerOlympicstorchrelay.

　　Jingjing,（晶晶）apanda,hasbeenlinkedtotheSichuanearthquakesincetheepicenteroftheearthquakewasclosetotheWulongPandaResearchCenter,China’smainbreedingandconservationfacilityforitsbelovednationalanimal.

　　Beibei,（贝贝）afish,hasbeenlinkedtotheflashfloodinginSouthernChina.