Grandpa Nankong, a caricature of Confucius, was recently advertised on the Nasdaq screen in New York's Time Square, local media reported on Jan 18.

Created in 2015, Grandpa Nankong is the mascot of the southern branch of Confucianism in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

His bun is shaped like a painting or calligraphy scroll and symbolizes the depth and profundity of Confucianism.

His eyes are covered with thick eyebrows, which is a common way to represent profound knowledge in cartoons. His heart-shaped beard symbolizes the Confucian notion that every person has the right to go to school and receive an education.

This is the second time that Grandpa Nankong has appeared in Times Square.

This time, he was dressed in jubilant festival clothing, holding a folding fan with the character "福" (meaning "blessing" in English) written on it. He reads The Analects of Confucius and then bows to the audience.

Unlike his first appearance, this time he was accompanied by a number of friends known as "Room 32, Building 5", a group of cartoon images.

This appearance was made possible by the China Science Communication, a science-promotion website created by the China Association for Science and Technology.

In addition, a 100-episode animated series entitled 100 Questions that I Know featuring Grandpa Nankong and Room 32, Building 5 as the leading roles is currently under production and is expected to be aired this year.