Guests at the meeting

More than 120 experts and scholars yesterday gathered in a seminar to exchange ideas about the mascot of World Expo 2010 Shanghai.

Since the international solicitation of the Expo mascot released on Jan 17, the design of the Expo mascot has drawn great attention of both common people and artists.

An Expo official said the organizers dispatched eight teams traveling more than 40,000 kilometer home and abroad and provide a door to door promotion to over 15,000 people, asking them to submit ideas about the Expo mascot.

Hard work yields good results. The bureau is very confident that they will receive more than 20,000 responses for the Expo mascot before the May 31 deadline.

Comparing to the Beijing committee calling for the Olympics mascot from the public and only received about 600 entries, Expo organizers might have wider choices of lovable mascots.

Regarding to the design, Chinese style is obviously a popular idea that almost every one would mention. But artists and scholars also agreed that the Chinese traditions in the mascot should be more "understandable."

"We need something that needs less explanation when we show them to the world, rather than merely a totem of China, which contains too many cultures." said Weng Ling, the director of Shanghai Gallery of Art.

"Expo is different to the Olympics. Shanghai has its own style, which is more fashionable and the Expo will showcase the modern side of the city. And so is the mascot."

Hon Bing-wah, vice president of Hongkong Artists Association, said that the Expo mascot needs a modern appearance which could represent the core concept of World Expos -- innovation and high-technology -- and a Chinese spirit which could pass on Chinese culture to the world.