New IP image kicks off museum's Spring Festival activities

Two kids pose with Fu Dou'er puppets at the museum.

On Feb 2, Prince Kung's Palace Museum commenced a folk cultural event for this year's Little New Year, observed on the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, signifying the commencement of Spring Festival celebrations. This event also introduced the museum's new IP image, "Fu Dou'er", marking the initiation of a series of upcoming Lunar New Year festivities for the Year of the Dragon. The celebrations are scheduled to continue until Lantern Festival on Feb 24.

Fu Dou'er is inspired by the bat motif and symbolism found within the museum's architecture of residence and garden. In traditional Chinese culture, bats are considered symbols of good fortune and auspiciousness because the Chinese word for "bat" (fu) is a homophone with that of blessing (fu). By extracting the essence of traditional culture and transforming it into a cartoon character, the cute and chubby "Fu Dou'er" comes into being.

On the first day of the event, 16,000 visitors visited the museum and took photos with Fu Dou'er puppets at such locations as the Hall for Worshipping Buddha, Temple of the Dragon King and the Hut of Melody of Flowers (Yunhua yi). Many visitors tried using calligraphy brushes to write the character "fu" alongside the Fu Dou'er puppet. The newly released Fu Dou'er-themed cultural and creative products were also popular among visitors.

Outside the museum, on Wangfujing Street – Beijing's most crowded commercial area, Fu Dou'er attracted local residents and tourists alike. Some shared their photos with Fu Dou'er on social media platforms, such as Douyin, Weibo and Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

Starting from Feb 2, Fu Dou'er emoji packs and digital red envelope covers have been made available on Prince Kung's Palace Museum's official WeChat account, spreading ample blessings and good fortunes to numerous users through mobile devices.