WELLINGTON, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Governor-General Anand Satyanand is to travel to Asia to represent New Zealand at the Beijing Olympics and to make the first state visit to Mongolia.

    The governor-general will arrive in Beijing on Thursday and will attend a New Zealand Olympic Committee function that evening where the New Zealand flag bearer will be announced, the Government House said in a statement on Wednesday.

    On Friday, the governor-general will attend a luncheon for Heads of State and Heads of Government hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao before attending the opening ceremony at the National Stadium.

    On Saturday, he will travel to Qingdao, the site of the Olympic Sailing Center, to watch several sailing events. While in Qingdao, the governor-general will also attend a ceremony where a sister city agreement will be signed by the Mayors of Qingdao and Auckland 's North Shore City.

    On Aug. 10 and 11, the governor-general will view a number of sporting events in Beijing.

    On Aug. 12, the governor-general will fly to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, becoming the first New Zealand governor-general to make a state visit to the Asian nation.

    While in Mongolia, he will visit an NZAID project and attend a dinner hosted by the President Enkhbayan Nambar while the following day they will meet Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar and Foreign Minister Sanjaasuren Oyun as well as visiting a nomadic village in the hinterland.

    Returning to Beijing on Aug. 14, the governor-general will view several more sporting events, including the rowing finals and medal ceremonies on 16 August.

    The governor-general said the visit to Beijing was an opportunity to represent New Zealand to the world and to support New Zealand's athletes.

    "These Olympic Games are particularly special to our country. Not only do they mark a century of participation by New Zealanders in the Games, but will also see the 1000th New Zealand athlete participate in an Olympic Games. All New Zealanders can take pride that a relatively small country has produced so many world-class athletes and feel privileged to be able to support them in person," he said.