Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

Torchbearer Chen Xiujun runs with the torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on May 9, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

　

    BEIING, May 11 -- Before the relay in Shantou, the Olympic torch was carried through Huizhou, the third stop in Guangdong province.

    Friday's leg of the Olympic torch relay kicked off with an opening ceremony in Huizhou. Former national swimming champion Chen Xiujun was the first runner of the morning.

    Thousands of local residents lined the streets along the route, cheering the Olympic flame as it passed through their hometown.

    A total of 208 torchbearers took part in the relay. The route stretched nearly 31-kilometers long and took in many of the city's most picturesque places, including this beautiful lake.

    A spectator said, "We feel very proud that the Olympic torch has come to Huizhou, one of four stops in Guangdong province."

    Besides being a popular tourist destination, the city has become an economic powerhouse of Guangdong, with the manufacturing and research centers of many world brands, such as GE and Sony, all based there.

    After Huizhou, the Olympic torch relay heads for Shantou, the last stopover in Guangdong, before moving to Fujian Province on Saturday.

    (Source: CCTV.com)

Olympic torch goes through Huizhou 

    HUIZHOU, South China, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic torch was carried through scenic Huizhou in Friday's relay, the third stop in Guangdong province, with the local backstroker Chen Xiujun bearing the first leg.

    Chen, 22, finished first in women's 200m backstroke at China's national games 2001. Then a year later, she was ranked fourth at the Busan Asian Games in the event. In the 2004 Athens Games, Chensettled with the fourth place in 4x100m medley. Full story

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