The Olympic torch relay in Guangzhou will scale White Cloud Mountain and cross the Pearl River, covering a distance of 40.82 kilometers across the city for nine to 10 hours on Wednesday, it was announced yesterday.
"The torch will arrive in Guangzhou on Tuesday night from Haikou after it finishes its first provincial leg on the Chinese mainland on Hainan," Zeng Xiaohong, vice-director of the Guangdong Sports Bureau, told the media.
Yang Jinghui, diving champion at Athens 2004, will start the torch relay in Guangzhou at Baiyun International Convention Centre, followed by 207 other torchbearers who will scale White Cloud Mountain, pass the Memorial Hall of Sun Yat-sen and the century-old pedestrian street of Beijing Road, and cross the Pearl River twice before reaching Tianhe Sports Stadium, where Fencing World champion Dong Zhaozhi, the final torchbearer, will light the cauldron.
"These two athletes are the first and final torchbearers since the Olympics is in essence a sports event," said Gu Shiyang, deputy secretary-general of Guangzhou municipal government.
"As for the route, we aim to demonstrate to the world that Guangzhou is a city with more than 2,200 years of history and at the same time is a modern city."
This will be the second time Guangzhou has hosted a torch relay for an international sports event. As the host city of the 2010 Asian Games, Guangzhou was also a torch relay city for the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
"We've gained some valued experiences to ensure this torch relay is a success in Guangzhou," said Gu.
Various plans have been drafted for possible changes and emergencies. These include plans to ensure a smooth relay in the rain since showers are forecast for Wednesday, and a possible clash with the torch relay on Mount Qomolangma.
According to the rules of the Olympics Games, since the torch relay cannot take place at the same time in two different locations, during the one-hour relay to the peak of Mount Qomalangma, torch relays in other places have to be suspended.
On Wednesday, the torch will leave for Shenzhen.
(China Daily 05/05/2008 page3)
