Sports / China
Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Route unveiled
(BOCOG)
Updated: 2007-04-26 20:42
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay will traverse the longest distance,
cover the greatest area and include the largest number of people,
according to plans released tonight during a grand ceremony held in the
China Millennium Monument in Beijing by BOCOG, the Beijing Organizing
Committee for the Games of XXIX Olympiad.
The planned route, revealed by Luo Gan, member of the standing committee
of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, and who was joined by
International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, would last 130
days and travel 137,000 kilometers. And the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch
design was unveiled by State Councilor and BOCOG first vice-president
Chen Zhili, with IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Hein Verbruggen
alongside.
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"Journey of Harmony"
"As the prelude to the Beijing Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Torch Relay is one of the most important ceremonies and a major means to
spread and promote the Olympic spirit," said BOCOG President Liu Qi. "As
one of the grand ceremonies for the Beijing Olympic Games, the Torch
Relay of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games has set its theme as the 'Journey
of Harmony' and the slogan 'Light the Passion, Share the Dream'."
Liu said,the torch will be passed in all the five continents around the
world and throughout China. It is our hope that the Beijing Olympic Torch
Relay will once again spread the Olympic spirit all over the world and
demonstrate Chinese people's passion for the Olympic Movement. The relay
will showcase the people, beautiful sceneries, cultural heritage in
countries, regions and cities along the relay route. It will enhance
mutual understanding and friendship among people of different countries.
Moreover, it will further expound the rich implication of our theme
slogan "One World One Dream".
We are sending invitations to people all over the world to share the joy
and glory brought by the Beijing Olympic Games, Liu added.
"By traveling along the historic 'Silk Road', a symbol of ancient trade
links between China and the rest of the world, crossing the five
continents and going to new places, the Beijing 2008 Torch Relay will, as
its theme says, be a 'Journey of Harmony', bringing friendship and
respect to people of different nationalities, races and creeds,"
commented IOC President Rogge. "I have no doubt the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Torch Relay will leave many extraordinary memories and create new dreams
for people around the world."
Liu Peng, minister of the State General Administration of Sport and
executive president of BOCOG also attended the ceremony. And the ceremony
was presided over by Wang Qishan, mayor of Beijing and executive
president of BOCOG.
The Planned Route
Validated by IOC, the Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece
according to tradition on March 25, 2008. From March 25 - 30, the Torch
Relay will travel across Greece, ending at the Panathinaiko Stadium, the
site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. After the handover
ceremony in the stadium, the Olympic Flame will arrive in Beijing on
March 31, 2008. In Beijing, a ceremony will be held for the arrival of
the flame into China and Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay will commence.
The cities along the route are:
Beijing; Almaty; Istanbul; St.Petersburg; London; Paris; San Francisco;
Buenos Aires; Dar Es Salaam; Muscat; Islamabad; Mumbai; Bangkok; Kuala
Lumpur; Jakarta; Canberra; Nagano; Seoul; Pyongyang; Ho Chi Minh City;
Taipei; Hong Kong; Macao; Hainan Province (Sanya, Wuzhishan, Wanning,
Haikou); Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Shantou);
Fujian Province (Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Longyan); Jiangxi Province
(Ruijin, Jinggangshan, Nanchang); Zhejiang Province (Wenzhou, Ningbo,
Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing); Shanghai; Jiangsu Province (Suzhou,
Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing); An'hui Province (Hefei, Huainan,
Wuhu, Jixi, Huangshan); Hubei Province (Wuhan, Yichang, Jingzhou); Hunan
Province (Yueyang, Changsha, Shaoshan); Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
(Guilin, Nanning, Baise); Yunnan Province (Kunming, Lijiang, Xamgyi'
nyilha); Guizhou Province (Guiyang, Kaili, Zunyi); Chongqing; Sichuang
Province (Guang'an, Mianyang, Guanghan, Leshan, Zigong, Yibin, Chengdu);
Tibet Autonomous Region (Shannan Diqu, Lhasa); Qinghai Province (Golmud,
Qinghai Hu, Xining); Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Urumqi, Kashi,
Shihezi, Changji); Gansu Province (Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan,
Tianshui, Lanzhou); Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Zhongwei, Wuzhong,
Yinchuan); Shaanxi Province (Yan'an, Yangling, Xianyang, Xi'an); Shanxi
Province (Yuncheng, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong); Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region (Hohhot, Ordos, Baotou, Chifeng); Heilongjiang Province (Qiqihar,
Daqing, Harbin); Jilin Province (Songyuan, Changchun, Jilin, Yanji);
Liaoning Province (Shenyang, Benxi, Liaoyang, Anshan, Dalian); Shandong
Province (Yantai, Weihai, Qingdao, Rizhao, Linyi, Qufu, Tai'an, Jinan);
Henan Province (Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Anyang); Hebei
Province (Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan); Tianjin; and Beijing.
One of the highlights of this leg will be the attempt to bring the
Olympic Flame to the highest peak in the world Mt. Qomolangma. During the
arrival ceremony for the flame into China on March 31, 2008, one of the
lanterns with the Olympic Flame will be kept aside. The torchbearer team
will then attempt to take the Flame to the highest peak on a day in May
that presents the best climatic conditions for the ascent.
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