Ethnic people welcome Olympic torch relay in south China
6/5/2008 16:37
During a three-day journey in south China's Hainan Province, the Olympic
torch relay has received warm welcome by all the Hainan people, including ethnic
Li, Miao and Hui.
China's southernmost province is home to 38 ethnic groups
and an ethnic population of 1 million. When the Olympic torch relay toured
Sanya, Wuzhishan, Wanning and Qionghai, ethnic people were all along the relay
route, cheering and chanting support for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, they
expressed their best wishes by performing folk songs and dances.
"It's
wonderful and exciting. I'm so proud of my country," said Wanma, a Tibetan young
man living in the resort city of Sanya.
Born in Shigatse, a city some 250
kilometers west of Lhasa, the 25-year-old youth now works as a staff at a scenic
spot in Sanya.
Wanma said it's not only his dream but also the wish of all
the Chinese people including the Tibetan people that the Olympic Games will be
held in China.
Pu Guizhen, a senior man of the ethnic Hui group, greeted the
Olympic flame with his sons and grandchildren. They waved red flags and Olympic
flags, rooting for the torchbearers.
Over 7,000 Hui people live in the
Fenghuang Town of Sanya. As the Olympic flame passed by, they all put on
traditional clothes and welcomed the sacred flame with their special
greetings.
"It's a great honor for me to run as the last torchbearer, and I
hope I can show the charm of both Sanya and Li people," said Pu Huifang, head of
Tianya Town, who ran together with movie star Jackie Chan.
Pu said said she
would take the Olympic torch to her town and let her townees touch it, to feel
the charm and spirit of the Olympics.
Torchbearer Lu Deping, a representative
of ethnic Miao, ran the second leg in Wuzhishan city. "It is a moment of life
for me," he exclaimed.
Xinhua
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