Special report: 2008 Olympic Games  
    HONG KONG, May 2 (Xinhua) -- One hundred and twenty torchbearers are set to pass by many landmarks Friday in the Hong Kong leg of the Olympic torch relay.     

    The eight-hour trip has started in the morning from the Hong Kong Cultural Center, a landmark built in the 1980s on the site of the railway station on the northern coast of the Victoria Harbor, although a clock tower is the only trace left of the station.

    The Cultural Center is known for its slope appearance. What is most surprising about the center is that it has no windows as the designer wanted to envisage a place where "the performance will be left to the free judgment of the audience."

    The Cultural Center was first open to the public in 1989, marking a new page in Hong Kong's cultural history. It comprises different function sections so as to accommodate various artistic forms such as concerts, musicals, operas, etc.

    Tsim Sha Tsui, where the Cultural Center is located, is also home to many other cultural landmarks, including the Space Museum and the Avenue of Stars. Nathan Road, part of the first section of the torch relay route, is also part of a commercial district with franchised stores of many leading international brands.

    The pop star torchbearers such as Andy Lau, Ku Kui-kei, Kelly Chen and Jacky Cheung Hok-yau shine on this section of the route.

    The torch relay will then move on to Tsing Ma Bridge, a recent landmark bridge connecting Hong Kong's namesake main island and the largely green Lantau Island. Construction on the project began in 1992 and was completed only five years later.

    Together with the nearby Kap Shui Mun Bridge, Tsing Ma Bridge now makes one of the most spectacular landscapes in Hong Kong.

    　The third section of the relay will start at the Sing Mun River Channel near the Chinese University of Hong Kong in the New Territories. Hong Kong has been prepared for this section with rich performances showcasing the local culture and folklore.

    The torchbearer will cross the river on Chinese dragon boats to reach Sha Tin, where the equestrian events of the Beijing Olympics will be held in August.

    The horse race tradition in Hong Kong dated back to 1840s and Sha Tin racecourse is one of the two major racecourses in the city, the other being Happy Valley.

    Sha Tin racecourse was first built in 1978 and renovated later on to achieve a capacity for over 80,000 spectators. It is one of the top racecourses in the world, with foldable cover, equine hospital, racing laboratory and equine swimming pool. Fours hills were leveled to turn part of the sea into land in the project.

    Horse races are held on weekends in the racing season in September through June and the Penfold Park encircled by the turf track were now a park open to the public.

    The fun part for this section of the relay is that some of the torchbearers, including Paralympics athlete Nelson Yip Siu-hong, will ride horses to relay the torch.

    Officials and organizers in Hong Kong had promised "surprises" at the gathering of about 15,000 people and rich performances set for the Sha Tin racecourse.

    The fourth section will be back in Tsim Sha Tsui, this time starting on the Avenue of Stars. Torchbearers will then cross the Victoria Harbor on star ferry, a well-known means of transport in Hong Kong, which comprises two major islands, a peninsula and numerous other small islands. They will be on the land again at the Central Pier.

    Victoria Harbor, known as "pearl of the east," is one of the world's leading ports. Hong Kong is one of the world's shipping centers and an aviation hub.

    The skyscrapers on the local skyline, especially the glamorous night view from the Peak on the Hong Kong Island, is also well known around the world.

    The Central is a developed financial district on the Hong Kong Island. With shopping malls everywhere, it is one of the world's most densely populated places. Landmarks include the International Financial Center II, the Bank of China Hong Kong building.

    The torch relay route finally leads to the Gold Bauhinia Squarein Wan Chai, a district neighboring Central and home to the Exhibition and Convention Center.

    The square is one of the landmarks known to many Chinese as a symbol of Hong Kong's return to the motherland after about a century of British colonial rule.

    The square on the southern coast of the Victoria Harbor was constructed to commemorate the historic moment on July 1, 1997, when China resumed its sovereignty over the southern territory with a grand handover ceremony.

    The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was established on the city's return to the motherland in 1997 and the central government presented a six-meter tall bronze bauhinia sculpture to the special administrative region as a gift.

    The sculpture facing the Victoria Harbor, called "the Ever Blossoming Bauhinia," was put on the square beside the Convention and Exhibition Center, thus giving the square its present name, which means sustained prosperity.

    Since then, the Chinese national flag and the flag of the HKSAR were put up on the masts at 8:00 a.m. and down at 6:00 p.m. each day. The chief executive and other top officials of the HKSAR government routinely attend ceremonies to put up the flags at the square on July 1 and on October 1, the National Day. Helicopters from the Flying Service fly overhead and ships from the Fire Services Department also take part in the performance with spectacular water sprays.

    There is a 20-meter tall monument commemorating Hong Kong's return.