Flame finds fanfare in mainland return

BEIJING, May 4 -- After touring 21 countries and regions in its globe-trotting trek, the Olympic flame is finally back on mainland soil. It arrived about 10 o'clock last night to much pizzazz in Sanya, on the southwest island province of Hainan.

The Beijing Olympic Games torch relay resumes its journey on the man-made Phoenix Island in Sanya Bay at 8am today. In all, 624 torchbearers will cover the 91.63-kilometer route in Hainan Province, passing by landmarks in Wuzhishan and Wanning cities, before it ends in Haikou, capital of the province, on Tuesday.

A total of 208 torchbearers, including officials, businessmen and showbusiness figures like tele-vision hostess Yang Lan and movie star Zhang Ziyi will run in the 30.9km Sanya leg of the relay.

The relay will include beach running, three-tandem cycling and Taiji performances to highlight Sanya's tropical seaside landscape and Chinese culture. Yang Yang, China's short-track speed-skating ace will be the first torchbearer for the relay in Sanya, officials said at a torch-relay press conference on Friday.

Yang, China's first gold medalist in the Winter Olympic Games, won 59 world championship titles, a record for a Chinese athlete.

She will be followed by Li Lihui, president of the Bank of China. Basketball star Yi Jianlian and Sanya City Mayor Lu Zhiyuan will be the third and fourth torchbearers.

The last runners in Sanya will be film action hero Jackie Chan and Pu Huifang, mayor of Tianya Township in Sanya.

Sanya taxi driver Chen Bo told Shanghai Daily yesterday that he is excited to see so many celebrities gathered for the relay.

"It makes me proud of my hometown," Chen said. "We have blossomed into a more prosperous island in the past two decades."

Local elementary school student Huang Zhi concurred: "I saw the torch on television when it hit in Hong Kong. It will be fun when the relay begins here."

Wang Shichun, a 40-year-old woman who sells fruit in Sanya is excited, but also has an eye on business. "I meet more and more travelers these days," she said. "I hope more travelers will come here to see our landscape ... and to try our tropical fruits."

A torch welcoming party was hosted last night by Coca-Cola in Sanya. Li Hong, chief representative of the International Olympic Committee Beijing 2008 Office, Zhao Dongming, director of the Cultural Activities Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Li Boqing, deputy mayor of Sanya, were among many special guests at the party. They each held a symbolic torch to welcome the flame's arrival.

Xinhua news agency reported that the torch relay in Macau concluded late yesterday as Leong Heng Teng, a member of the Executive Council of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government, lit the cauldron on Fisherman's Wharf. The Macau leg lasted for more than three hours. More than 1,000 people gathered at Fisherman's Wharf, wildly cheering and waving national, regional and Olympic flags.

The 27-kilometer leg had 120 torchbearers.

"The lighting of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay's Cauldron signifies the successful completion of the Olympic Flame's relay around Macau on this memorable day," said Leong.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)