The mascot, named Miaomiao, was selected from 231 entries. [Photo/Culturalink.gov.cn]

The mascot, named Miaomiao, was selected from 231 entries. It was designed by Chen Chaomiao, director of the Department of Animation and Multimedia Design at Quanzhou Normal University, and his design team.

Based on wood carvings of the Miaoyin bird in Quanzhou's Kaiyuan Temple, Miaomiao is a cartoon image with a man's head and a bird's body. Miaomiao holds a nanpa,a musical instrument that is a type of bent-necked pipa used in World-Cultural-Heritage-listed Quanzhou ancient Nanyin music.

According to Chen, he drew his inspiration for the mascot from Quanzhou folk art and handicrafts, such as marionettes and dough figurines. After four revisions in more than one month, he wished to combine the historical and cultural relics in Quanzhou with lively fashion and international elements through the design.

"The key words of the design are Quanzhou, southern Fujian, artistic and international cultural exchange. The mascot must be a perfect visualization of all these characteristics. That’s why I chose the Miaoyin bird as the chief source of my design. It was an achievement of international cultural exchange during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties. It means open and inclusive," he said.

The online competition for the festival logo and mascot launched in mid-June at www.2015art.cn. Hundreds of competitors from all over the country, including several noted Chinese designers, submitted their works in less than one month.