Snake-themed Bing Dwen Dwen unveiled ahead of year of the snake, celebrating Beijing Winter Olympics' legacy

A Chinese zodiac snake version of 2022 Winter Olympic Games mascot Bing Dwen Dwen was unveiled on Tuesday in Beijing ahead of the upcoming Year of the Snake in January 2025.

The special version of the mascot was released to mark the third anniversary of the Beijing Games. Its new style comes in five versions: "Fu," "Lu," "Shou," "Xi," and "Cai," representing the "five blessings"- good fortune, prosperity, longevity, happiness, and wealth - which play a vital role in Chinese New Year celebrations.

Notably, the design of accessories on the mascot's head was inspired by the Peking Opera "The Legend of the White Snake", which tells a love story between a man and a female snake fairy who transforms into a beautiful woman.

"We drew inspiration from the hair accessories worn by the performers of the Peking Opera 'The Legend of the White Snake'. These accessories incorporate the elements of a snake, which were transformed into exquisite decorative pieces. We thought the design is really good, so we learned from the idea to use the snake as a headgear," said Lin Cunzhen, chief designer of the snake version of Bing Dwen Dwen.

The new version of Bing Dwen Dwen will be available for sale in five Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing on Friday before a nationwide release in December. Meanwhile, other licensed products of the new version including plush toys, figurines, badges, and keychains will also be available for purchase both online and in stores.

Snake-themed Bing Dwen Dwen unveiled ahead of year of the snake, celebrating Beijing Winter Olympics' legacy

Panchen Erdeni Chos-kyi rGyal-po on Nov 26 completed a tour of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region lasting five months, during which he performed regular duties, Buddhist rituals and social activities.

Panchen Erdeni Chos-kyi rGyal-po, more commonly known as Panchen Rinpoche, flew to the regional capital Lhasa from northwest China's Qinghai Province on June 25.

From June 27 to Sept 9, Panchen Rinpoche performed his duties as the president of the Xizang branch of the Buddhist Association of China, and carried out Buddhist rituals and social activities in the cities of Lhasa, Nagqu and Nyingchi.

From Sept 11 to Nov 25, Panchen Rinpoche carried out a series of Buddhist rituals and social activities in the city of Xigaze, and presided over a meeting of the council of the Xizang branch of the Buddhist Association of China.

During his five-month tour in Xizang, Panchen Rinpoche performed head-touching rituals for nearly 70,000 monks and believers.

Panchen Rinpoche is a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body. He is also vice president of the Buddhist Association of China.

Panchen Rinpoche concludes tour in Xizang