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

China's one-year loan prime rate (LPR), a market-based benchmark lending rate, came in at 3 percent on Wednesday, the same as the previous month.

The over-five-year LPR, on which many lenders base their mortgage rates, also remained unchanged from the previous reading of 3.5 percent, according to the National Interbank Funding Center.

LPRs reflect the level of financing costs for households and businesses. Lower rates will ease borrowing burdens and boost investment and consumption.

Interest rates on newly issued loans in China have remained relatively low. Data showed that in April 2026, the weighted average interest rate for new corporate loans was around 3.1 percent, about 20 basis points lower than a year earlier, while that for new personal housing loans was 3.1 percent, 6 basis points lower than the same period of 2025.

China will continue to implement a more proactive fiscal policy and adopt an appropriately accommodative monetary policy in 2026, this year's government work report noted.

China's loan prime rates remain unchanged