This blue curly hair looks like the waves of the sea. Its smile is a sign of the
healthy spirit of China. Those thumbs-up (翘拇指) will welcome millions to Shanghai from around the world.
It is Haibao, the mascot(吉祥物) of the 2010 Shanghai World Exposition. “It's very cute,” said Gu Weiyi, a school kid. “I want a big toy like the mascot.”
Haibao looks like the Chinese word ren, which means people or a person. The name comes from the Chinese phrases “Sihai Zhi Bao”- the treasure of the four seas. Haibao also means the treasure of Shanghai, which lies beside the sea.
Haibao was made by two artists , one from the mainland and the other from Taiwan. The design is about people living together in in the city. The designers want it to fit in with the theme of the Shanghai Exposition: Better City, Better Life.