Special report: 2008 Olympic Games  

    BEIJING, May 4 -- The Olympic flame now is in Sanya, the southern-most city in China's Hainan Province. Two hundred and eight torchbearers will take part in the torch relay.

    The dream of one torchbearer has brought him closer to the Olympics.

    Liu Ying, Sanya City of Hainan Province, said, "I'm standing here at Sanya Bay. From here, you can see Phoenix island. A nearly 400-meter long arch bridge links the island with the Sanya City. On May 4, the torch relay of the Beijing Olympics will start on the island."

    Phoenix island is man-made, built on a huge reef plate, with total area of over 360 thousand square meters.

    Arriving on the island, the most prominent view is a 50-meter tall fire phoenix sculpture, symbolizing fortune and happiness. An Olympic square on the island from where torch relay is expected to kick off, undergoes final preparations.

    Zeng Xianyun, former teacher and now the builder of China's first ever man-made island, shares his excitement that Phoenix island was selected by the Beijing Olympic Games organizers to be the starting point of the mainland relay.

    What's more Zeng himself will run one of the legs on the island.

    Zeng Xianyun, Chairman of Sanya Phonix Island Investment, said, "The relay of the sacred flame will start from the Phoenix island. I am also selected as one of the 208 torch bearers in Sanya's torch relay. I am extremely pleased and proud. All my family and company employees feel proud for me."

    The 53-year-old developer has worked out an ambitious blueprint for the island. Over the next four to five years, Zeng' s company plans to invest more than 5 billion yuan, or over 700 million U.S. dollars, to build the island into an international luxury vacation resort. Already, a cruise terminal to host luxury cruise liners from all over the world has been completed and put into use. Other grand projects for the island include an international yacht club, tropical cultural and shopping street, and a mult-star hotel, which Zeng boats will be the "oriental Dubai".

    For now, the 53-year-old developer has been exercising each day to keep fit and prepare to carry the Olympic flame. He anxiously anticipates the flame's arrival and the moment he himself carries the Olympic torch on the island he is developing.

    (Source: CCTV.com)

Olympic torch relay kicks off in Chinese mainland

Torchbearer Yang Lan runs with the torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on May 4, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SANYA, Hainan, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The 2008 Beijing Olympic torch relay kicked off here Sunday morning, the first leg in Chinese mainland.

    At the Fire Phoenix Square of the Phoenix Island, China's short track speed skating Olympic champion Yang Yang became the first torchbearer.

    "I felt both excited and nervous to be the first torchbearer in the Chinese mainland," said Yang, the first Chinese gold medalist in the Winter Olympic Games.  Full story