“Shanghai Baby” and the World Expo 2010
"Shanghai Baby" (Hai Bao 海宝), mascot of the World Expo 2010
During my recent trip to Shanghai, I became somewhat obsessed with this figure of Hai Bao, the official mascot of the World Expo 2010 to be held in Shanghai in May 2010. Hai Bao’s name can be translated as “Shanghai Baby,” and he appears all over the city (both in Puxi and Pudong) on billboards, shop posters, and bus advertisments, just to name a few.
When our staff here at the museum first saw the image of Hai Bao, people had declared that he looked like “toothpaste man” or a blue Gumby. The physical appearance of Hai Bao actually derives from the Chinese character of ren 人 (person, people, humanity), underscoring the Expo’s motto of “Better City, Better Life” [for the people].
Chinese characters also play another important part in the official name of the World Expo 2010. Note the green writing in the above picture: it is actually a derivation of the character shi 世 (life, age, era, world), in this case representing the “World” part of the name, but it has been reconfigured to look like three people holding hands in celebration.
These two examples are interesting considering Shanghai’s continued success in traversing the local and the global. As a friend had recently noted, if I could not read Chinese, then I would not have known that the green writing said “World” Expo 2010. And the embracing smile of “Shanghai Baby” is ready to welcome the world to this Chinese city.
10 Responses to ““Shanghai Baby” and the World Expo 2010”
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xensen on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:41 am
The play on the characters is clever.
Hai Bao does appear to be of the lineage of the Gumby dynastic tradition. But I think I see a bit of the Foster Freeze man or maybe Big Boy in the sweep of his hair.
dany on September 22nd, 2009 at 9:03 am
Yes! Actually, the sweep of hair is what made people recall also the idealized swig of toothpaste on one’s toothbrush.
UrsoChappell on September 22nd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I was just in Shanghai this past week and the image of Haibao is on nearly every available flat surface.
The history of world’s fair mascots is a history of inexplicable mascots. For a list of official expo mascots since the first one in 1984:
http://www.ExpoMuseum.com/mascot/
xensen on September 22nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
UrsoChappell, that is indeed an amazing line-up of Expo mascots.
noelcornell on September 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 am
Looking at UrsoChappell’s included link one would think that the World Expo is part of a plot to lower our resistance for the upcoming alien take over from another world. 2008 in particular is very obviously otherworldly and alien.
And I, for one, welcome our new toothpaste headed overlords.
erica on September 23rd, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Thanks, Dany. I’m glad to have a little more appreciation for Shanghai Baby than was possible before I had the Chinese language context. I was pretty unimpressed when I first saw it as it didn’t seem to have much character (pardon the pun). It reminds me somewhat of Izzy, from the Atlanta Olympics in ’96 (maybe it’s just the blue), and that was a mascot without much appeal.
dany on September 24th, 2009 at 7:33 am
NOTE: Haibao can also be translated as “treasure of the sea,” but I don’t think this is as catchy.
It’s interesting that you mentioned Izzy, Erica, cause you’re not the first one apparently! Imagethief has said the same thing, only Haibao is a cross-breed of Izzy and Gumby: http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/archive/2007/12/20/gumby-s-love-child-named-shanghai-world-expo-mascot.aspx
michael d. on September 25th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
He has also been compared to a blue prophylactic …
Nancy on September 28th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
You guys – I am never going to be able to look at Gumby the same. A blue prophylactic…+ Shanghai Baby + Hai Bao? Who knew that he (?) had such an international family.
azzurraying on February 22nd, 2010 at 11:31 am
I believe Haibao is supposed to be a watery thing; its blue hue color of the sea (hai), etc. Supposed to represent the all-embracing spirit (like the ocean?) of Shanghainese. See a detailed, possibly official, and non-too grammatical English explanation: http://baike.baidu.com/view/1317845.htm