Is this just a case of Shanzhai Haibao #FAIL? more ›

Last May we were introduced to the kookaburra "Peng Peng", Australia’s cheeky mascot for the 2010 World Expo. Shortly after, a whole gaggle of pavillion mascots started popping up: the Francophile feline "Léon", the stinkin "Durian Star" from Singapore, the turd-like “Yabi” from Taiwan, the not-so-gentle Giant “Tai” from (you guessed it) Thailand and everybody’s favorite blue gang “the Smurfs” representing the shared Belgium/ EU pavilion. more ›

Haibao, everybody's favorite blue thingamajiggy that somehow represents the Expo, has gained a back story and guess what? He's ~*magic*~! more ›

Australia seems to be taking the early bird proverb pretty seriously these days. It became the first foreign pavilion to finish its outer structure last week, and then revealed its own official mascot for the World Expo - a kookaburra! And now it's looking for the Chinese to give the Ozzie representative a name. more ›

God forbid you should ever come across two or more of the Shanghai World Expo mascots in the street, at least now, thanks to Shanghai Daily, you know the proper collective noun to use when describing the furry blue monsters to the 119 operator: Brace. "I am being attacked by a brace of Haibao!" Should there be six Haibao, you would say "three brace of Haibao!" Seven? Good luck. No one has ever escaped from such an encounter alive. Please note that, like "fish" and "zucchini", the plural form of Haibao is also Haibao, making them even creepier. [Via apgalbraith on Twitter] more ›

4. Your fuwa is now finished! Leave it to dry for a few hours before bringing it with you to the Olympic celebrations. more ›

In more Olympics mascot merchandising news, look what we've just found. The perfect souvenir - a Fuwa action hero figure! But wait a minute — where's our favorite taxi driver Fuwa? Coming soon to a street corner near you. (h/t sinosplice) more ›

Olympics mascot merchandising is a multi-million dollar business, but since the mascots for the Beijing Olympics were announced nearly three years ago they have met with mixed reviews. A nationwide survey conducted by Nielsen Co. showed that only 60% of Chinese liked the Fuwa characters. more ›

What's the verdict, readers? more ›

We can see it now. Fast-forward to 2010. An ancient Tibetan god called Gozer arrives atop an apartment building near Xintiandi in Shanghai, where it tells the neighborhood's restaurateurs that the next thing they think of will be the form Gozer will assume to destroy their world. Despite their efforts to clear their minds, Bob Boyce imagines Haibao, the irksome mascot of the 2010 World Expo. As he explains, Haibao "just popped in there" as "something that could never possibly destroy us." Moments later a giant Haibao is seen walking towards the apartment building. And then the restaurateurs shoot at Haibao with their proton packs ... and so on and so on. more ›

We want some of whatever this guy is smoking: more ›

And ... ummm ... what ... exactly .... is ... that? more ›