The arrival in
Beijing of the Olympic flame marks an historic first for the city -- and the memory of a lifetime for scores of ordinary people.
The arrival of the Olympic flame in
Beijing next week marks a landmark in the city's history and puts it under a global spotlight as never before.
The spectacular and symbolic torch relay has been an established tradition since the Berlin Olympiad in 1936.
The elaborate round-the-world journey of the torch that will be used to ignite the Olympic flame in Athens for this year's event takes in
Beijing for the first time.
Intended to be the embodiment of human love and peace, the flame will be carried by 148 torch-bearers from all walks of life in China, from the famous to the totally unknown.
According to the
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), the Olympic flame will arrive in
Beijing from Seoul in the Republic of Korea via a specially chartered plane in the early morning next Tuesday. The flame is to be taken to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall for documentary shooting after a brief reception ceremony at
Beijing Capital International Airport.
The highlight of the event comes on Wednesday. That's when the torch-bearers, aged from 14 to 73, will pass the flame in a hand-to-hand relay across the city.
At 9am, the first torch-bearer, whose name has yet to be announced, will start out from the north gate of the Great Hall of the People located in the heart of the city.
The relay route has been carefully planned to weave through three urban and two suburban districts of
Beijing to showcase the best of the capital city's resplendent culture as well as its modern charm.
Starting from Xicheng District in the west of the city, the torch goes through Chongwen District in the south, and then zigzags through Dongcheng and
Chaoyang disctricts before going up northwest across the city to Haidian District.
Along this route, the Olympic flame will travel over 50 kilometres, passing a host of icons of historic and modern
Beijing such as Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Wangfujing Commercial Area, the China World Trade Centre, a number of prestigious universities and an Olympic venue construction site.
The relay ends at the Summer Palace, where the last torch-bearer will ignite a ceremonial cauldron before a 60-minute celebration party is held to conclude the two-day event.
The
Beijing torch relay will last an estimated eight hours, with each torch-bearer covering approximately 400 metres.
The image of the Olympic torch being carried through
Beijing is creating great excitement and emotion. Thousands of people are expected to line the route to welcome the Olympic flame and to cheer on each torch-bearer. During the relay, camera crews, escort runners and patrol vehicles will closely follow the progress as the flame is ceremoniously passed from torch to torch.
With individuals from across the country taking part, the passage of the flame offers
Beijing a perfect opportunity to showcase itself to the world, to play its role in spreading the Olympic spirit reaffirming the values of participation, fraternity and peace. Along the route, Beijing's citizens will have celebrations of their own. An artistic group from Greece will participate in an evening gala show at the Summer Palace.
The torch-bearers are from all walks of life in China, representing various ethnic groups and including model workers, well-known sportsmen and sportswomen, sports fans and ordinary people.
The Global Olympic Torch Relay will cover a distance of 78,000 kilometres. Around 1,500 kilometres of that distance will be covered by 3,600 torch-bearers. The journey utilizes planes, vehicles and boats. The Olympic torch will visit all previous Olympic cities as well as a number of other cities of special importance. These include Lausanne in Switzerland, seat of the International Olympic Committee. Also for the first time, the Olympic flame will visit the continents of South America and Africa.
Beijing is the only city that will play host to the flame for two days.
After Beijing, the flame is scheduled to visit New Delhi, the capital of India.
On August 13, after the completion of its global relay, the Olympic torch will return for the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympiad.
The Torch Relay, as the opening of the Olympic celebration, was revived at the Berlin Olympiad in 1936. Since then it has preceded every Olympic Summer Games.
According to tradition, the journey begins at the ancient site of Olympia, where women wearing ancient-style robes harness the sun using a curved mirror according to ancient tradition. The flame is then passed from runner to runner to the main stadium.
At the opening ceremony, the cauldron -- representing bravery, solidarity and friendship -- will be lit by an athlete from the host city and kept alight until the closing of the Olympic Games.
Stars for a day Meng Jingshan
A former taxi driver, Meng, 39, is widely known for his zealous work helping Beijing's Olympic bid in 2000. That caught the attention of an American free-lancer of the Atlanta Journal, Keith Graham, and resulted in Meng being given a series of awards for his efforts.
"I was told that as a taxi driver I was appointed to be one of the carriers in early May," he said. The
Beijing native is taking the privilege in his stride. "I have started to do some preparation like jogging more often recently."
Talking about the impact on his life, he said it was likely he would become better known: "There will be more praise and less time of my own. But I do not mind."
"I hope that we can actually stage a successful Olympics in
Beijing in 2008 and let the world know the glorious history of our country. Meanwhile, I hope my own life can be improved further, like moving out of my current shabby bungalow to an apartment building.
The Olympic flame may only be passing through
Beijing en route to Athens next week.
But it will continue to burn brightly in the hearts of a group of ordinary people who are helping the city make history.
They are the torch-bearers, people from all walks of life who have been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a deeply symbolic event.
The names of 148 lucky people selected to take part were announced by the
Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), an organization which is focusing most of its attention on the 2008 event.
The torch-bearers will carry the flame in relay on a 55-kilometre route through the capital.
Beijing Weekend caught up with some of them to find out how they feel about the big day.
Wang Gongquan
A 67-year-old retired computer researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang has enjoyed a morning run for decades.
"I have a mixed feeling of joy and anticipation. In such a huge country, it is really rare for an old man like me without any special qualification to be chosen as a torch-carrier.
"This is also a revelation of the Olympic spirit that even an ordinary, old man can participate. Although I am an introverted person, I am actually very excited to manifest the special feelings about the Olympics for senior Chinese."
Wang still stays healthy thanks to his years of exercise. He still does regular exercise and rides a bicycle to re-employment work everyday. "Although the 400m is nothing for me, it is a different distance of 400m which is longer than any one I have ever covered."
Wang is quite clear about what participation will bring to him. "It will not influence my job, work and career direction now. But it will have a deep psychological impact which enables me to face life and difficulties with more confidence.
"I hope the 2008 Olympics is a great success in which everyone is happy. As an old man, I am trying to stay healthy. I hope to have another chance to raise the torch in 2008.
Ye Lu
A 14-year-old first grade student at
Beijing No 15 Middle School, Ye is known as a little guard of the environment and for spreading the word about the "green" Olympics in 2001.
"My first reaction was surprised and happy. It was hard to believe," said Ye. "I think it is the highest prize the country gives to young students like us doing environmental protection.
"My classmates are very supportive. They accompany me to a nearby park to practice running every day.
"I hope that the Olympics in
Beijing will be the most successful one in environmental protection. By the time
Beijing holds the 2008 Olympics, I will be 18 and have more matured ideas, which I'd like to share with more young people. I will call more young people to join the environmental protection effort to contribute to the event.
Wang Haipeng
A 25-year-old sports reporter with
Beijing Morning Post with six years sports reporting experience, including the Olympics in Atlanta and Sydney.
Said Wang: "Is it true? I could not believe the news that I was among the 148 people at the beginning!
"Many people say that I am lucky and will get famous. But for me, it is just a realization of my dream."
Wang said he first had the dream of someday holding the torch high when he was reporting the Sydney Olympics in 2000. "I never expected that someday I would be able to participate. As a sports reporter, I think I have a better understanding about the Olympic spirit and the participation of the torch relay will be a valuable experience in my life."
The direct influence of the selection was immediately felt by Wang: "As a reporter, I am used to interviewing other people, but now I have become the interviewee.
"To me, the selection means more responsibility to make myself better. I am no longer myself but a torch-bearer, a person who should be perfect in all aspects.
"I do not know what I will be like in 2008 because currently any words or numbers can not describe what 2008 will be. But I will try my best to do my job reporting the first ever Olympics held at home.
Yuan Jing
A 19-year-old vice-monitor from Anshan, Liaoning Province in the national flag guard
"I am very happy. I am very lucky to be recommended by my superior," Yuan said.
Yuan said he had not had the time to sit down to think about the event. "My colleagues are all happy for me. I will raise my own standards higher. By 2008, I hope I could come back to
Beijing to watch the event.
Sun Maofang
A retired vice-political commissar from
Beijing Army Hospital, he has been following Lei Feng's example to serve people by doing volunteer work for 40 years.
"In my 40-odd years of life in the army, I won a lot of prizes. But this is the greatest one in my life. This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the pride, self-confidence, image and victory of Chinese people," the 62-year-old said.
"I think it is a great prize from the people for me to be a torch-bearer. My family, friends, neighbours in my community and relatives back in my hometown in Xiangshan, Zhejiang Province are all happy and supportive."
"I will take the opportunity to spread the knowledge of the Olympics and Beijing's economy and culture to the world.
"Taking part in the torch relay will surely make me noted by more people. I am not afraid of getting famous. It will help me to better serve the people and the country because people will trust me more if I am more famous.
"I may not the fastest runner in the relay, but I will be the most glistening one," smiled Wang.
