Olympic flame lights "Window of China's reform"

SHENZHEN, South China, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic flame kept on its journey Thursday in Guangdong Province, passing through Shenzhen, the "Window of China's reform".

Shenzhen, which is going to host the 2011 Universiade, is the eighth leg of the torch relay in China. As China's first Special Economic Zone initiated by late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, Shenzhen has grown from a small border town into a large, modern city in 30 years.

Shenzhen relay was delayed until noon, to leave the center stage to the flame's Mount Qomolangma relay in the morning, but the over 40 kilometers route was not cut, launched in the Civic Center Square at 12:10 am local time.

The Olympic flame made its first ever trip to Mount Qomolangma as it was carried to the top of the world by Chinese mountaineers at 9:12 a.m..

The torch, lit at about one hundred meters away from the top, was relayed by five torchbearers to the peak. The unprecedented relay lasted about six minutes.

From the Civic Center Square, the relay passed the Plant Exhibition Park, Shenzhen Science-Technology Park, Nanshan No. 2 Foreign Study College, Red Forest Park, Futian Sports Complex before arriving at the celebration spot - the Shenzhen Sports Complex.

The spotlights along the route include the "Window of the World", the Red Forest Seaside Park, Xiaoping Portrait Sign.

The "Window of the world" is a culture and tourist center, which boasts 130 sights, covering an area of 48,000 square meters.

The Red Forest Seaside Park is China's smallest natural reservation in state level.

The Xiaoping Portrait Sign holds a size of 300 square meters, erected in the conjunction of South Shenzhen Road and Hongling Road. The sign has long been a tourist attraction in memory of Deng Xiaoping, who singled out the one-time fishing village of Shenzhen to be the first of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in China.

It was originally established in 1979 due to its proximity to Hong Kong. The SEZ was created to be an experimental ground of the open-up policy.

Xiao Junfeng, the 2000 Sydney Olympic gold medalist, was credited to start the relay.

Xiao, along with his teammates Yang Wei, Xing Aowei, Li Xiaopeng, won the men's team title of gymnastics in the 2000 Olympics.

"As the first runner in Shenzhen leg, I need to show my best. Being part of the torch relay reminds me the moment of winning the Olympic gold medal in Sydney. It's very emotional moment," said Xiao.

"The Beijing Olympic Games provides us a wonderful stage. I believe that the Chinese gymnastics team, as the world championship and World Cup winner, is capable of achieving good results in the Beijing Olympics," added Xiao, the first Olympic gold medalist from Shenzhen.

Li Lanmei, 29, a migrant worker in Shenzhen, was picked up to carry the torch.

"It has long been my dream to be an Olympic torchbearer. Now the dream came true," said Li, who came to Shenzhen in 2000 and was awarded the title of "Model Worker" and "Excellent Migrant Women Worker" in Shenzhen Nanshan District.

"I am very proud. I would like to tell my fellow workers: 'you can be successful if only you try hard'. The torch in my hand is a proof," said Li, adding that she had a sleepless night after being picked as a torchbearer.

Cao Yan, 38, a teacher from a school for the disabled, was one of the torchbearers.

"Teacher, you are great and we are proud of you," Cao read a text message sent by her students.

"My students wanted to come to watch the sacred flame. But for the sake of their safety the schoolmaster decided to ask them to watch TV at school," said Cao.

Wang Shi, a top real estate entrepreneur in China, is one of the high-profile torch bears.

He is the board chairman of Vanke, a leading real estate developer. Wang scaled Mt. Qomolangma in 2003, and has reached the leading summits in seven continents and explored the Antarctica and Arctic.