Unraveling the Mystery of Haibao

With the Shanghai World Expo drawing to a close at the end of the month, it is high time we examine the strange and yet oddly delightful world of Haibao.  Haibao is the blue, gumby-looking creature meant to represent the Shanghai World Expo. A nation-wide contest with over 26,000 entries resulted ultimately in the selection of Taiwanese designer Wu Yong Jian’s Haibao character. The designer claims that Haibao represents human kind, as it looks like the Chinese character for ‘person.’ Meanwhile the name literally translates into Sea Treasure.

While this all seems catchy and cute, there are some devious sides to the creation of Haibao. Wu Yong Jian remains adament that he designed the character 100% on his own, without having ever heard of the 1950s American Gumby character. Meanwhile, the Haibao character is almost identical to the logo and icon for a Chinese company called Xinxiang Haibao Electrical Appliance, who claim the use of their logo for the expo was not harmful to them, and only resulted in worldwide fame of their company’s logo. These similarities were revealed in an awkward moment when an American NPR reporter produced images of Gumby at a press conference and accused the designer and the committee of plagiarism. All this aside, the Expo committee descided to move forward with the lovable blue cartoon as the Expo’s key logo and icon.

With Haibao on the rise, nothing could stop the committee from becoming not only the icon for the Expo, but for the city of Shanghai. Long before the first exhibit opened in Shanghai there was a giant inflatable Haibao floating in the middle of the pond in central Shanghai. Small ‘Better City, Better Life’ posters sprang up around the city, endorsed by Haibao. The icon was literally everywhere, and this all happening before the end of the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Posters and icons popped up around the city, soon after followed the robotic Haibao. Yes, you read correctly. There are now several blue, cartoon Haibao robots designed by Zhejiang University stationed at the airports and around the Expo. The machines give advice, welcome visitors in several languages, take photos for visitors and even puts on a small talent show. For China, this is the first general-use robot introduced into the public and matched perfectly with the concept of a new wave of scientific advancement in China.

With the Expo nearing a close, what will become of the thousands of Haibao statues and posters around Shanghai? What will become of the robots that can dance, sing and even take your photo? Will the Haibao become a thing of the past or is it the new face and icon of Shanghai, China’s most modern and lavish of cities?