Olympic torch leaves Daqing for Qiqihar

Cheer squad welcomes the torch during the Torch Relay in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, on July 12.

(Photo credit: Xinhua)

Updated：2008-07-12

(DAQING, July 12) -- Last torchbearer Gu Shuangyan, vice-president of Daqing Intermediate People's Court, lit the cauldron at 9:55 a.m. on Saturday amid rain, marking the end of the Daqing leg of the Olympic Torch Relay. The city of Qiqihar will host the Olympic flame on Sunday.

First torchbearer Hu Zhiqiang, who leads the No. 1205 drilling team of Daqing oilfield, carried the torch at 8:20 a.m. on Saturday to start the Daqing leg of the Olympic Torch Relay amid showers.

Hu graduated from the Daqing Petroleum Institute in 1994 and has devoted his life to oil drilling since then.

A total of 208 torchbearers participated in the 7.6 km-long relay.

Daqing, meaning "Great Celebration," is a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. It was founded in 1959 to house workers extracting oil and gas from the Daqing oilfield and to host industries which could take advantage of the energy and petrochemicals found here.