Special report: 2008 Olympic Games
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Ying Daiming(R), secretary of the
Jingzhou municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), passes
the torch to torchbearer Zheng Lihui during the launching ceremony for the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Jingzhou, central China's Hubei
Province, June 2, 2008. (Xinhua/Du Huaju)
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JINGZHOU, Central China, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The
Beijing Olympic torch relay started its Jingzhou leg on the middle reaches of
the Yangtze River on Monday, the last segment in central China's Hubei province.
The 18.6-kilometer relay of 208 torchbearers kicked
off at 8:13 a.m. at the Golden Phoenix Square and will pass through the Ancient
Jingzhou Town and end at Shalongda Square.
Zheng Lihui, who claimed a men's gymnastics team gold at Sydney Olympics, opened the relay as the first torchbearer. As the No. 3 torchbearer, the Greek ambassador to China Michael Cambanis delivered the flame on the Nine Dragon Bridge of the city.
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Local citizens raise a placard saying "sharing weal and woe with our motherland and compatriots in the quake-stricken region" during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Jingzhou, central China's Hubei Province, June 2, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)
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The torch carriers also include world weightlifting
champion Guan Hong and Chinese actress Zeng Li.
At the launching ceremony, the torchbearers and
spectators observed a minute of silence to the victims of the 8.0-magnitude
earthquake which struck southwestern China's Sichuan Province on May 12.
Jingzhou is one of the first 24 historic cities of
cultural significance selected by the State Council and also the cradle of Chu
culture of ancient China.
As a transportation hub and distribution center of commodities since ancient times, the city has become a strategic place of military importance in Chinese history.
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Torchbearer Huang Jianhong kindles the Olympic flame cauldron with the torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Jingzhou, central China's Hubei Province, June 2, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
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