New company designs tourism logo for Dunhuang

The camel logo designed by the Hull company is used on T-shirts and other products. Photos provided to China Daily

As a travel and culture buff, He Xiaobei has visited Northwest China's Gansu province, a world tourism attraction, a number of times, but he never bought too many souvenirs.

"I cannot afford cultural products like silk or handicraft - they are too expensive," he says, adding that touristy items like T-shirts with the word "Gansu" printed on them in Chinese, are boring.

On such trips he has always wanted to buy something interesting to take back home as gifts for others but his desire remained unfilled.

So in January, the 29-year-old designed a logo for the province's popular city Dunhuang along with some friends.

"The logo is a camel, because it is the first image that comes to my mind when I think of Gansu," he says, adding that he uses a cartoon as he wants more young people to buy products with the logo.

"Although I'm an interior design graduate, I'm interested in traveling and traditional culture. That's why I'm doing something for the tourism industry on the places I like," he says.

With a passion for design, he and his friends established Hull, a culture and media company, in Beijing last year.

They hope the camel logo will be seen as a cultural symbol and help the tourism industry become a part of everyday life of the city's residents.