Jackie Chan to be last torchbearer for the relay in Sanya

Source: Shanghai Daily | 05-04-2008 08:47

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 pizazz 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.