Tradition illuminates the Olympics

OLYMPIC planners yesterday revealed the designs for equipment and uniforms to be used in the torch relay.

They will feature a phoenix pattern and lucky clouds and the designs will cover the torch, the torch lantern, torch holder and fire basin.

China unveiled the torch design for the Beijing Olympics last April. It is a red-and-silver tube shaped like a Chinese scroll and engraved with clouds.

The torch lantern design released yesterday was inspired by traditional Chinese lanterns used in royal palaces.

The silver luster of the lantern coupled with glass serves as a foil to the flame and communicates the Olympic flame's sanctity and purity, the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games said on its Website.

The torch holder's design borrows from the architectural styles of the Han (206 BC-220 AD) and Tang (618-907 AD) dynasties, with lucky clouds drifting at the bottom.

The clouds were also a key element in the design of the fire basin, which is in the shape of a "ding" - a vessel used to store meat in ancient China.

The 56 clouds hollowed out of the curved plate of the basin symbolize China's 56 ethnic groups. The base of the basin has four legs with eight faces, symbolizing that the Beijing Games welcomes friends from all corners of the world.

The basin is 130 centimeters tall, representing the torch relay's 130-day trip around the world. Its 29-centimeter width is because it is the 29th Olympiad. The basin's height of 112 centimeters refers to the 112 years since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

The uniforms for the Beijing Olympic torch relay include those for torchbearers, escort runners and staff members.

White is the basic color of the uniforms for torchbearers to indicate a sense of simplicity, sanctity and etiquette. Escort runners and staff will wear blue.

Blue and red, the dominant backdrop colors for the torch relay, express excitement and joy.

The Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, according to tradition, on March 25 and it will reach the Panathinaiko Stadium, site of the first modern Olympic Games, on March 30.

After the handover ceremony in the stadium, the Olympic Flame will arrive in Beijing on March 31. A ceremony will mark the arrival of the flame in China and the torch relay will commence.

The relay will be 137,000 kilometers long, the longest in Olympic history, and more than 22,000 torch bearers will be involved. The flame will also be carried to the summit of Mount Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest, for the first time.