Source: CCTV.com

03-31-2008 17:03

A grand ceremony has been held at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, to welcome the arrival of the Olympic flame from Greece. The plane carrying the Olympic flame touched down at Beijing Monday morning. BOCOG president Liu Qi carried the safety lantern that contained the flame. The lantern and the flame it held then headed for the official welcome at Tian'anmen Square. China's top officials, including President Hu Jintao, and officials from the International Olympic Committee, attended the event. During the ceremony, Liu Qi said China will do its best to ensure a successful Olympic Games.

A grand ceremony has been held at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing,  to welcome the arrival of the Olympic flame from Greece.

BOCOG president Liu Qi, said, "The arrival of the Olympic flame in China marks the official prelude to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. There are 130 days to go before the opening of the Beijing Olympics. We'll make it a grand event that promotes great mutual understanding and friendly cooperation between the Chinese people and people around the world. I wish the Olympic torch relay full success."

The torch in Liu Qi's hand was ignited and then passed to Chinese President Hu Jintao. He lit the cauldron and handed the torch over to Chinese Olympic champion Liu Xiang, declaring the launch of the international and domestic torch relay.The Olympic flame is scheduled to depart for Almaty city in Kazakhstan on Tuesday. It will return to Tian'anmen Square on August 6th.

 

Editor:Zhao Yan