Global Times: Meet Bing Dwen Dwen's No.1 fan: Japanese journalist trends on Chinese internet for his love of Winter Olympic panda mascot
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BEIJING, Feb. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --
A Japanese journalist has become one of the most popular topics in recent days
along the opening of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games for his effusive
love to Bing Dwen Dwen, the Panda-shape mascot.
Gido Tsujioka, an announcer from Japan's NTV, has earned himself a new name
"Gido Dwen Dwen" after a sequence of video clips of Tsujioka went viral on the
Chinese internet, which showed how Tsujioka, during live news, "showed off" his
collections of Bing Dwen Dwen badges, met Bing Dwen Dwen in person and
excitedly promoted Bing Dwen Dwen to Japanese audience.
More than 300 million people have watched Tsujioka's Bing Dwen Dwen video on
the Chinese internet.
In an interview with the Global Times on Saturday, 35-year-old Tsujioka said,
"If his existence could draw more people's attention to the Beijing Winter
Olympic Games, it would be great."
According to Tsujioka, Bing Dwen Dwen has "saved his life." It was because on
the first day arriving at Beijing, Tsujioka lost his jacket on the plane and
was feeling down. At the very moment, he saw the adorable Bing Dwen Dwen and
was healed in one second.
"I fell in love with Bing Dwen Dwen at the first sight," he said. "No matter
how tired, whenever I see Bing Dwen Dwen, I feel motivated… With Bing Dwen
Dwen, I do not feel cold without my jacket," he told the Global Times.
Now, Tsujioka has eight Bing Dwen Dwen badges hanging on his press card. Apart
from those, he was also wearing a Bing Dwen Dwen T-shirt and owns many other
Bing Dwen Dwen souvenirs such as a scarf and clothes.
He has sent back a parcel full of Bing Dwen Dwen souvenirs back to Japan to let
more Japanese people feel the charm of Bing Dwen Dwen.
However, Tsujioka did not expect that Bing Dwen Dwen had already been popular
in Japan. On a Japanese second-hand trading website, Bing Dwen Dwens have
either been marked up or sold out.
"I have received countless messages, asking me to bring Bing Dwen Dwen back to
Japan," Tsujioka said. "Maybe I will buy a lot of Bing Dwen Dwens, throw away
my clothes and fill my suitcase with all Bing Dwen Dwens."
With so many Bing Dwen Dwens, Tsujioka still holds two wishes. One is to take a
selfie with Bing Dwen Dwen and set it as the wallpaper of his phone, and the
other is to interview the designer of Bing Dwen Dwen.
Cao Xue, the designer of the mascot and the director at the School of Visual
Art and Design at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, has implied to media that
he would be pleased to meet the Bing Dwen Dwen uber-fan to understand why this
Japanese journalist loves Bing Dwen Dwen so much.
Talking about his feelings watching the opening ceremony of the Winter
Olympics, Tsujioka said, "I feel very happy and touched because the Winter
Olympics are a pure sporting event and a world stage. I hope the contestants
can maintain their best condition and perform at the highest level."
Tsujioka is just one of numerous people who have been fascinated by Bing Dwen
Dwen.
"OMG! It's so cute!" "I want one!" "Hello little guy…" When posts with such
descriptions circulating on social media in recent days in which a fluffy and
lovable panda waving and smiling, Bing Dwen Dwen has become a star not only in
the Olympic Villages, venues, and almost, everywhere.
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games has rated Bing Dwen Dwen as the
most trending topic on social media. The chubby panda in fully body shell of
ice looks like an astronaut has generated more than 250 million views, and the
netizens have shared the videos and pictures of fun moments with Bing Dwen
Dwen, including images of the inflated Beijing Games mascot trying to squeeze
through the door to enter the main media center and how much foreign athletes
enjoy sleeping on Bing Dwen Dwen pillows.
"I almost cried seeing the mascot," Czech ice dancer Natalie Taschlerova told
the Global Times in a recent interview, as she saw that the Olympic mascot was
among the gifts athletes receive when they arrived at the Olympic Villages. She
said that with her teammates, they had been talking about buying those
panda-shaped keychains and pillows as they were so cute.
"I love it. The panda is very cute," Brazilian athlete Nicole Silveira told the
Global Times, as she also received the backpack full of Beijing 2022
memorabilia. In some photos of Silveira sent to the Global Times, the Brazilian
athlete took photos with the mascot inside the village or selfies with the
pillow.
"The panda? I did. I love it. I'm gonna bring it back home and give it to my
grandmother. Because everyone likes panda, right?" Swiss snowboarder Nicolas
Huber told the Global Times on Thursday. "Who doesn't like pandas? They're so
nice. They really chilled animals."
The design for Bing Dwen Dwen was chosen from over 5,800 submissions from
throughout China and 35 countries around the world as part of a global
competition arranged by the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, according to
official website of the Winter Games.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1251852.shtml
SOURCE: Global Times
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