Olympic torch relay begins tour Jinan

JINAN, East China, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic torch relay begins its tour in Jinan, capital city of east China's Shandong Province, at 8:10 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Gong Xiaobin, coach of Shandong Gold Basketball Club, carried the torch as the first runner.

The torch will tour from Shandong provincial stadium to Qilu software park, covering 13.5 kilometers and involving a total of 243 torchbearers.

The torch relay in Jinan is the last leg of the sacred Olympic flame's tour in Shandong.