Dragon, phoenix ambassadors make debut
故宫博物院吉祥物亮相 “壮壮”“美美”首次与公众见面
The Palace Museum unveiled its two brand new mascots in Xiamen, in southeast China's Fujian province.
中国东南部福建省厦门市故宫博物院的两款全新吉祥物首次与公众见面。
Donning Qing Dynasty costumes, the designs for Zhuangzhuang and Meimei originate from the traditional Chinese symbols of the dragon and the phoenix.
身着清朝服饰的“壮壮”和“美美”设计灵感来源于中国传统的龙和凤。
The names of the mascots also bear special meaning.
而它们的名字也有着特殊意义。
"Zhuang," which means strong in Mandarin, represents the gorgeous Forbidden City.
“壮”在汉语意为强壮,代表着宏伟的紫禁城。
"Mei", the word for beautiful, stands for the more than 1.8 million treasures collected within its walls.
而“美”则是美丽之意,代表故宫收藏的价值180多万件珍品。
Sadly, the mascots did not receive unanimous applause, with some netizens saying Meimei looked more like a penguin than a phoenix.
遗憾的是这对吉祥物并没有得到一致认可,甚至有网友吐槽“美美”更像一只企鹅而非凤凰。