The torch relay in Guangzhou will cover 40 kilometers with 208 torchbearers to carry the torch amid cheers and jubilation from thousands of local supporters.
The relay started at the Guangzhou International Convention Center at 8:10 a.m., local time, and is set to pass Hill Top Park, Yuntai Garden, Guangzhou Arts Museum, Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum, Chen Ancestral Temple, Beijing Road, Haiyin Park, Consulate District Square and reach the celebration site at the Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Complex.
Folk artists performed traditional Chinese lion and dragon dances around the starting point before a large crowd of spectators that had gathered to watch the launching ceremony.
The torchbearers include athletes, entertainers, workers, teachers, students and volunteers, with some high-profile torchbearers like Olympic gold medalist Yang Jinghui, Swedish diver Ulrika Margarata Knape-Lindberg, former Chinese national soccer coach Shen Xiangfu, three-time fencing Olympian Dong Zhaozhi and actor Chen Kun.
First torchbearer Yang Jinghui, a Guangzhou native, won a gold medal in the synchronized 10m platform diving competition with Tian Liang in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"It's a great honor for me to be selected as the first runner," said the 24-year-old Yang. "I am an athlete, a student and a volunteer, so I can represent all three kinds of people."
Yang had previously carried the torch for the 2006 Doha Asian Games and 2007 Guangzhou National University Games.
"It's quite a different feeling to hold the Olympic torch," Yang said.
Dong Zhaozhi, a Guangzhou native and fencing silver medalist at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, will run the last leg of the relay, which is scheduled to end at 6:00 p.m.
沒有留言:
張貼留言