海宝（ハイバオ）

海宝（ハイバオ）は、Expo 2010 上海の公式マスコットで、笑顔の青いキャラクターです。その形は「人」という漢字をもとにしており、人を重視した国際博覧会とそのテーマ「より良い都市、より良い生活」を表しています。名前は「海」と「宝」を組み合わせたもので、「海の宝」を意味します。大きな丸い目は未来への希望を、青い色は海やテクノロジー、想像力を表しています。

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誕生と選考

The Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination launched a worldwide design contest in early 2007. Between January 17 and May 31, 2007, it received 26,655 entries from 21 countries and regions, 431 of them from abroad, by artists aged 3 to 83, far more than expected. A panel of 11 experts from China and abroad judged them.

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The winning concept came from Taiwanese designer Wu Yongjian, also romanized as Wu Yoken, who first sketched his idea, then called Dabao, on the back of a coffee-shop receipt. A team led by veteran Shanghai designer Shao Longtu reworked it around the character 人 to stress the Expo’s focus on people living in cities. Wu said he took no part in the revisions, and Chinese newspapers later debated who was the real father of Haibao. The mascot was unveiled on December 18, 2007.

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名前の由来

Haibao combines hai, “sea,” which also points to Shanghai, and bao, “treasure.” The organizers presented the name as short for a phrase meaning “treasure of the four seas,” or treasure of the world, and chose it because it is easy to pronounce in any language.

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博覧会で

In the years leading up to the Expo, which ran from May 1 to October 31, 2010, Haibao was everywhere in Shanghai: on billboards and statues, in Metro stations, on building walls and elevated roads, and even shaped in topiary. His open arms and smile were meant to welcome visitors from around the world.

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切手・映像・グッズ

Commemorative postage stamps were issued on December 19, 2007, the day after the unveiling, and souvenirs and stuffed toys went on sale at authorized shops in Shanghai and Beijing, with mass production starting the following year. From key rings to school bags, Haibao became one of the most widely reproduced Expo mascots ever.

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豆知識

Shortly before the Expo opened, some observers pointed out Haibao’s resemblance to Gumby, the clay figure of 1950s and 1960s American television. The Expo’s organizers said the design was original and that they had never heard of Gumby.