{"id":1593,"date":"2016-01-18T14:22:39","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T14:22:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1593"},"modified":"2018-04-10T09:46:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T08:46:10","slug":"chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese New Year Official Mascots Revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time in its history, the Chinese New Year celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots.<\/p>\n

Chosen from more than 2,000 applications from as far back as 2014 and chosen by the China International Culture Exchange Association, the cute, Chinese New Year mascots are named\u00a0“Nian Wa” and “Chun Ni”, meaning “New Year Boy” and “Spring Girl”. Based on an ancient art form of printing on woodblocks, the mascots symbolise happiness and luck, as well as the delicate balance between “Yin” and “Yang”.<\/p>\n

The patterns on the Chinese New Year mascots’\u00a0dress – a bat and a fish – are signs of\u00a0\u00a0longevity and prosperity,\u00a0according to ancient\u00a0Chinese folklore.<\/p>\n

According to an article on Anhui News<\/a>, a\u00a0Professor of classical Chinese literature with Peking University, Li Hanqiu, says that the mascots will help other countries and those on holidays to China<\/a> to understand the complexities of Chinese culture.<\/p>\n

“We are announcing official symbols and mascots for the Spring Festival because we hope through modern communications means to share traditional Chinese culture to everyone and let it take root among all Chinese people. We also hope to attract a bigger fan base among young people, and make the festival more popular and accessible for the global audience,”\u00a0Li Hanqiu quotes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Commemorative stamps have also been released by the China post to celebrate the occasion.<\/p>\n

Chinese New Year<\/h2>\n

\"hong<\/a><\/p>\n

Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar Spring Festival, is a huge celebration in China, and this year the day falls\u00a0on Monday 8th February. The Year of the Goat\/Sheep will end\u00a0and The Year of the Monkey will start. People born in the Year of the Monkey are characterised as being mischievous problem solvers, who do well in their careers and life goals. However, in China the year is known to be one of the most unlucky!<\/p>\n

Celebrations take place around the world, with Chinatown in London set to have the biggest New Year party outside of Asia.<\/p>\n

If you prefer to celebrate Chinese New Year in the land of its origin, then we can make that happen with our Chinese New Year 2017 tour<\/a>. Celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, before exploring mainland China including the Terracotta Warriors and The Great Wall. A Harbin Ice and Snow Festival<\/a> extension is also available for those who wish to see the famous ice sculptures of Harbin.<\/p>\n

\n

\"brochure_btn\"<\/a> Go on a China tour\u00a0with the UK’s leading China Experts, Wendy Wu Tours<\/a>. Our award winning escorted, fully inclusive tours visit all the major sights of China for an unforgettable holiday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We also have amazing holidays\u00a0to Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, India and beyond…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time in its history, the Chinese New Year celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25,36,20],"yoast_head":"\nChinese New Year Mascots Revealed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For the first time in its history, the Chinese Lunar Calendar celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chinese New Year Mascots Revealed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the first time in its history, the Chinese Lunar Calendar celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wendy Wu Tours Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/wendywuofficial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-01-18T14:22:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-10T08:46:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WendyWuToursUK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WendyWuToursUK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nicci Kimmel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Wendy Wu Tours Blog\",\"description\":\"Travel Articles and Inspiration\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"chinese dragon dancing\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/\",\"name\":\"Chinese New Year Mascots Revealed\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-01-18T14:22:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-10T08:46:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/419e1eb6b692b12481e1b6dbc50ea778\"},\"description\":\"For the first time in its history, the Chinese Lunar Calendar celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chinese New Year Official Mascots Revealed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/419e1eb6b692b12481e1b6dbc50ea778\",\"name\":\"Nicci Kimmel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9592f6c4799b82ec2b2d4091b202b63?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9592f6c4799b82ec2b2d4091b202b63?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nicci Kimmel\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chinese New Year Mascots Revealed","description":"For the first time in its history, the Chinese Lunar Calendar celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chinese New Year Mascots Revealed","og_description":"For the first time in its history, the Chinese Lunar Calendar celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots","og_url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/","og_site_name":"Wendy Wu Tours Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/wendywuofficial","article_published_time":"2016-01-18T14:22:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-04-10T08:46:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@WendyWuToursUK","twitter_site":"@WendyWuToursUK","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nicci Kimmel","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/","name":"Wendy Wu Tours Blog","description":"Travel Articles and Inspiration","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg","width":1920,"height":600,"caption":"chinese dragon dancing"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/","name":"Chinese New Year Mascots Revealed","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-01-18T14:22:39+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-10T08:46:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/419e1eb6b692b12481e1b6dbc50ea778"},"description":"For the first time in its history, the Chinese Lunar Calendar celebrations will be joined by officially designed Chinese New Year mascots","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/chinese-new-year-mascots-revealed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chinese New Year Official Mascots Revealed"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/419e1eb6b692b12481e1b6dbc50ea778","name":"Nicci Kimmel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9592f6c4799b82ec2b2d4091b202b63?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9592f6c4799b82ec2b2d4091b202b63?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nicci Kimmel"}}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/chinese-new-year.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":781,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/a-brush-with-chinese-calligraphy\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":0},"title":"A Brush with Chinese Calligraphy","date":"11th May 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The ancient art of Chinese calligraphy is a delicate and precious one. Examples of Chinese characters can be traced back to 4000 BC and while the style of the calligraphy has evolved over the years, the traditional techniques and brushwork are still practiced today as contemporary calligraphers look to keep\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","img":{"alt_text":"chinese characters","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/char.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1096,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/guide-to-the-best-chinese-souvenirs\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":1},"title":"A Guide to the Best Chinese Souvenirs","date":"14th August 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"When you go on any holiday it is always nice to pick up some kind of souvenir or gift to send back to family or friends, or to remind you of your holiday.\u00a0 Those going on Chinese holidays this year will have an array of options to choose from as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","img":{"alt_text":"Great Wall of China","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Great-Wall.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5794,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/natural-balance-a-quick-guide-to-chinese-wellbeing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":2},"title":"Natural Balance \u2013 a Quick Guide to Chinese Wellbeing","date":"10th October 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"According to Taoist philosophy born in China over 2,000 years ago, everything in the universe is a balance of yin and yang and the key to your health and wellbeing is \u2018qi\u2019. Many of the ancient practices prescribed to help find this balance are still alive and well today. So,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","img":{"alt_text":"Women meditating at sunset","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/wellbeing_banner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1647,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/china-season-bbc2-the-story-of-china\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":3},"title":"China Season Starts on BBC Two with ‘The Story of China’","date":"21st January 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"BBC Two is celebrating the start of Chinese New Year with a season of TV programmes focusing on China, beginning with 'The Story of China'. Entitled China Season, BBC Two has planned a total of five TV programmes that celebrate the world's newest superpower, a country that's 4,000 years in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","img":{"alt_text":"the story of china","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/china-season.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4990,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chinese-new-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":4},"title":"Everything you need to know about Chinese New Year","date":"13th February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Chinese New Year is by no means restricted to China. It is one of the world\u2019s biggest celebrations, and 4% of the global population will be on the move to reunite with family and friends for the occasion. This year is the year of the dog, an animal that in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","img":{"alt_text":"Red lanterns for Chinese New Year","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/lanternsbanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/china\/a-timeline-to-chinese-dynasties\/","url_meta":{"origin":1593,"position":5},"title":"A Timeline to Chinese Dynasties","date":"11th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While many enjoy escorted tours of China to discover the beautiful landmarks, bustling cities and rich animal life \u2013 including the giant pandas \u2013 one of the biggest draws is the nation\u2019s past. Dating back thousands of years and offering a plethora of stories that continue to fascinate millions to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "China"","img":{"alt_text":"chinese calligraphy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/chinese-dynasties-timeline.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1593"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2941,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1593\/revisions\/2941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendywutours.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}