BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- The company that operates China's National Stadium, or "Bird's Nest", says on Sunday designs for its mascot and logo should combine regional characteristics and Chinese cultural elements.

    The stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, has started on Friday to solicit designs of its mascot and logo to "provide better environment and a better mode for the operation activities and public participation", according to a company spokesman.

    The mascot should be designed to show that the stadium is "a nest of life and source of dreams" and convey the ideal of harmonious co-existence of people, nature and the universe.

    The mascot should bear characteristics of Chinese culture, the city of Beijing, and the "Bird's Nest", have strong visual impact and an easy-to-remember name.

    The logo should display the "unique charms of the architecture and profound Chinese culture", show distinct characteristics of Beijing and be in conformity with aesthetic taste of the Chinese.

    All participants are supposed to hand in their works before Jan. 19 and a judging panel composed of at least nine members will select six designs each for the mascot and logo from March to April.

    The 12 finalists are expected to win a bonus of 10,000 yuan(1,464 U.S. dollars) and the two winners will get an extra 30,000 yuan.

    Located in northern part of Beijing, the National Stadium occupies an area of 21 hectares and has a floor space of 258,000 square meters. It has a seating capacity of 91,000, with 11,000 temporary seats.

    The "Bird's Nest" surpassed many famous landmarks of Beijing tocome in second as must-see scenic spots in an opinion poll organized by the Beijing Tourism Administration in Oct., which wasjoined by 14 million Internet users from home and abroad. Top on the list was the Great Wall.