The sales of the Olympic licensed products have doubled during the week-long national holiday, with Fuwa Jingjing the most popular mascot with foreign tourists, said a saleswoman.

Two Russian boys seem attracted by stuffed Fuwa products

Chen Hanying, who works at Gongmei emporium on Wangfujing, a car-free commercial street in Beijing's downtown area, said they have been so busy selling the products these days that they drink eight vats of water every day.

With keen observation, Chen said people from different places are fond of different types of products. For instance, the European and American tourists love T-shirts with Fuwa images, while Asian tourists prefer souvenirs with strong Chinese taste such as the four treasures of study (i.e. writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper). Chinese holidaymakers, on the other hand, have a wider range of interests, buying all kinds of products, i.e. pins, kites, cups and glasses.

"From what I can see," Chen said, "the foreign tourists' favorite is Fuwa Jingjing. This lovely panda may in itself represent China, so more than 90 percent of the foreign tourists choose it." Fuwa Jingjing is one of the five Olympic mascots for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the others being Beibei the Fish, Huanhuan the Olympic Flame, Yingying the Tibetan Antelope and Nini the Swallow.

(BOCOG October 8, 2007)