With just months to go before Beijing decides on the mascot for the 2008 Olympics, the Olympic Giant Panda Campaign headquarters in Sichuan Province is buzzing with the activity.
The director of the office says the giant panda is the perfect embodiment of the Olympic spirit, as it represents peace and harmony.
More than half of China’s giant pandas live in Sichuan, where they are fighting back from the brink of extinction. The Sichuan provincial government received nearly 300 different designs for consideration by the Beijing Organizing Committee.
Along with the giant panda, tigers, Tibetan antelopes, and the Monkey King are also contenders for the mascot.
Olympic officials will announce the new face of the 2008 Games in June next year.
