Olympic Flame Arrives in Beijing for Pre-Games Relay

Xiang Zhaolun (R, front), deputy secretary-general of the State Council of China, and Cai Fuchao, vice mayor of Beijing, hold the the flame upon its arrival during a simple reception at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, China, Aug. 5, 2008. The Olympic flame arrived in the host city Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, ready for the final leg of its global relay before the 29th Olympic Games open on Friday.

The Olympic torch arrived in the host city Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, ready for the final leg of its global relay before the 29th Olympic Games open on Friday.

Following a simple reception at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the flame flown from Sichuan Province was sent to an undisclosed location until Wednesday morning, when the relay begins from the landmark Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing.

A total of 841 torch bearers will join the three-day relay across the city of 17 million people, including some big names, ranging from China's hero astronaut Yang Liwei to basketball superstar Yao Ming.

The relay organizers said on Tuesday that the flame, on its first day, will travel 16.4 km in just over four hours with 433 bearers.

HERO ASTRONAUT TO KICK OFF RELAY

The relay will start from the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, Sun Xuecai, deputy director of the city sport department and deputy chairman of the organizing committee of the Olympic torch relay in Beijing, told a press conference.

Sun said the first bearer would be Yang Liwei, who became a national hero overnight after succeeding in China's first manned space mission in October 2003.

At the ceremony to be held at the Meridian Gate, Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), will hand over the Olympic flame to Yang, marking the start of the relay.

The torch will travel through seven downtown districts, passing city landmarks such as Tian'anmen Square, the egg-shaped National Center for the Performing Arts and the newly refurbished commercial district in Qianmen. It will end at the Temple of Heaven.

A grand ceremony will be held there. About 1,320 dancers will perform at the ceremony to receive the torch.

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