Wednesday 16 July 2008

Torch Relayed by Songhua River

Torchbearer Wang Chunli (R) lights the torch for the next torchbearer Man Wenjun during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Jinlin City, northeast China's Jilin Province, on July 15, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]

The Beijing Olympic torch relay came to Songyuan and Jilin City of Northeast China's Jilin province by Songhua River on Tuesday.

Altogether 218 torchbearers participated in the relay, of which key words are challenge, effort and green.

The Olympic torch witnesses a new Guiness world record that 2008 people playing horse-head fiddle, a typical musical instrument of Mongolia, together in Songyuan.

An officer from the headquarters of Guiness World Record gave the cognizance to the breaking of the record that 1199 horse head string instruments playing together in 2006.

Wang Gangyi, good at swimming in extremely cold water and has broken 5 Guiness world records, is one of the torchbearers in Songyuan leg. "There is no limit in the Olympics, so dose maximal exercise. I'd love to challenge those utmost limitations for my whole life," Wang said.

Great grandnephew of Yu Fengzhi, the first wife of Zhang Xueliang, who subsidized Liu Changchun 8,000 silver dollars to help him become the first Chinese athlete participating in the Olympic Games, is a torchbearer in Songyuan also.

"Olympic Games are the century dream of Chinese people. It's not easy for China to host Olympic Games, which is full of the efforts made by all Chinese people," said Yu.

And Ren Jianguo, a torchbearer in Jilin leg who is known as the first man to protect wild birds for Songhua River, said that he has fed the birds and built them nests for 11 years.

Ren said that Beijing Olympic Games advocates Green Olympics, calling for the harmonious co-existence between human being and nature.

"The National Stadium, the main venue for 2008 Beijing Olympics, is widely known as the Bird Nest. I will inspire myself with the spirit of Olympics to build better nests for wild birds," Ren said.

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