Olympic torch relay ends in Sichuan, on way to Beijing
5/8/2008 17:02
The Olympic torch relay ended today in Chengdu, capital of the
quake-battered Sichuan Province, the last leg of its tour outside the host city
Beijing.
The Chengdu leg of the torch relay began at 8:10 am today, 85 days
after an 8.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the southwestern province and killed
nearly 70,000 people there.
Tens of thousands of people looked on as former
Olympic gold medalist Zhang Shan took over the torch from the provincial
Communist Party chief Liu Qibao to become the first of all 315 torchbearers
along the 13.2-kilometer relay route.
Zhang claimed gold in the skeet event
at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 but failed to enter the Beijing Games after
losing to her teammate Wei Ning in the qualification round. Wei, 26, was
runner-up in the Athens Games of 2004.
"If the Beijing Games were an endpoint
in my own Olympic career, then I hope they would be the starting point for the
younger people," said Zhang, 40.
"Go, go, China; Arise, Sichuan" were heard
from the crowd of onlookers, many of whom still need time to heal the trauma
brought by the earthquake of May 12.
Two huge signboards were erected at the
starting point of the relay route, expressing thanks from the Sichuan people for
the help they have received from across China and the world.
When the torch
relay ended at 10:40 a.m., a ceremony was held to celebrate, with all the 862
torchbearers from Sichuan, quake relief workers and children from the quake-hit
areas, including three-year-old Lang Zheng who saluted to his saviors from the
stretcher and young heroes who saved classmates in time of the
disaster.
Sichuan enjoys more than 4,500 years of civilization and is home to
the endangered giant panda, the original form of Jingjing, one of the five
mascot dolls of the Beijing Games.
After Sichuan, the Olympic flame will be
relayed in Beijing from tomorrow to Friday before the opening of the
Games.
OLYMPIC SPIRITS INSPIRE
The Olympic torch relay was suspended for
three days after the devastating earthquake, and Sichuan was readjusted on the
relay schedule to become the last stop before Beijing.
The Olympics were
there to inspire the Chinese people even in time of the quake disaster. The
Olympic rings and the characters "Gu Bai Dan" -- the Chinese transliteration of
Pierre de Coubertin -- were seen on a piece of a broken bulletin board found in
the rubble of a collapsed school. The news photo, taken in one of the worst hit
counties, moved many people to tears.
A week after the May 12 quake, former
Olympic champions flooded into the worst-hit areas as volunteers, including Gao
Min and Deng Yaping. They played games with the children, hoping to soothe
them.
The sorrow-stricken children in Mianyang had a long-lost smile on their
faces when they learned they could play table tennis with Olympic champion
paddler Chen Longcan, and play rope skipping with synchronized swimmer Li
Rouping.
"It's the first time I see them smile. Sports helped open their
hearts," said a volunteer.
When the Olympic torch arrived in Mianyang
yesterday, quake sufferer Luo Tang'an said he knew all the time it would come.
"In fact, the flame is with us all the time," he said in his temporary lodging
in Pingwu County.
The quake has taken a heavy toll and toppled homes, but
never dampened the nation's faith.
"On sports field or in life, hardship and
disasters only make us stronger," said Tan Guoqiang, a primary school teacher
from the epicenter Wenchuan County. Despite the grief over the loss of his wife
in the quake, Tan and his colleagues worked day and night searching for signs of
life in the rubble of their collapsed school buildings.
Out of faith, Zhao
Yifu, 61, ran his own marathon by walking six hours from his temporary shelter
to feed water to his horse, three bulls and at least two scores of pigs and
sheep.
"We have already seen the courage and determination of the Chinese
people in another context. The world mourned the staggering loss of life from
the earthquake in Sichuan Province and marveled at the courageous response by
the Chinese people," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President
Jacques Rogge yesterday.
He said the Beijing Games would be a "historic" one
and would significantly advance the Olympic goals of universality and fair
play.
Xinhua
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