Chen Yiqin/Shanghai Daily news

I think Haibao gets at least 90 out of 100 points," said Shaw Longtu, chairman of Shaw & Shaw Advertising Co, the leader of the mascot revising team, during an interview with Shanghai Daily.

"The other 10 points? Well, we'll leave it to the public to improve it," Shaw said.

Haibao has become a hot topic around the city since it was unveiled last Tuesday night. Shanghai became magically decorated with the little blue cartoon figure before the dawn of Wednesday.

People on their way to work found Haibao's smile in the Metro stations, on the walls of buildings, along the elevated roads, basically everywhere.

Haibao, in the shape of Chinese character人(people), means "the treasure of the seas." It is special as it combines the efforts of hundreds of people and it stood out from the other 26,655 candidates in the international selection competition.

The idea for the Expo mascot came about in an unusual way. Wu Yokan, 41, the Taiwan designer now known as the "father of Haibao," said that he made the first sketch of Haibao on a receipt for a cup of coffee.

"I got up very early that day and went to a cafe for breakfast," Wu said. "I felt good and fresh, so I started to sketch on the receipt."

Wu showed our reporter the "historical" receipt. The "coffee - 18 yuan" is on the front, while the small figure is on the back.

The original figure that Wu created was the Chinese character "大," pronounced as da which means big, rather than "人."

"I was thinking of how Shanghai is a big city," Wu said. Da has other meanings in Chinese, such as generosity which also fits with the city of Shanghai, Wu added.

"大" also has hands and feet, little eyes and a big smile. Wu painted it with five colors and named it "Dabao."

Thought it was revised into the current mascot Haibao, it still got to keep the original figure created by Wu. "The coffee was great that morning," Wu recalled with a smile.

"Wu gave us the inspiration to use the Chinese character as a mascot," said Shaw.

Shaw said the team focused on "人" after they chose Wu's entry, the only entry among the 26,655 to use a Chinese character as the mascot.

"People create better lives," Shaw said. "Wu's design was more about the 'hardware' of the city, but with less of a human element, a less people-oriented spirit."

Shaw continued: "We also vetoed the five-color design. We think a simple blue, the color of the sea, represents the coastal city of Shanghai much better. And it will be much easier to produce. The cost is much lower."

Haibao was then officially created. It is a combination of people and water. It represents the theme of the Shanghai Expo "Better City, Better Life" by saying that "people are the foundation for creating a harmonious relationship with nature, society and the world," said Hu Jingjun, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

The structure of the Chinese character人, in which two strokes support each other, reflects the feeling that a harmonious society needs everyone's support.
It's said Haibao echoes the spirit of the World Expo, and with the culture of Shanghai and China. No matter whether it is a "Haibao" or "Dabao," the point is that the designer has made it from a character and people like that.