Since 1983 the annual Spring Festival Gala hosted by China Central Television has always been an important part of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration - no wonder every move organizers make becomes the center of attention.
On Thursday it published its mascot for 2016, the Year of the Monkey, and instantly it became a hit on the Internet; unfortunately some people deemed it "very ugly". Photo from Spring Festival Gala's offical Weibo account.
The sketch of a monkey in an ink painting was made by Chinese contemporary artist Han Meilin, who also designed the "Fuwa" mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The ink painting was deemed "cute" by most web users, as it "looks joyful", and represents a traditional art style.
The program producer named the monkey "Kang Kang", which means "healthy" in Chinese. Photo from Han Meilin's Weibo.
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