With the lighting of the flame cauldron at Moonlight Shadow Square by last torchbearer Sai Like, vice-mayor of Jiuquan, the Dunhuang leg of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay successfully wound up at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The highlight of today's torch relay was the carrying of the sacred flame on camels.
The relay in Dunhuang started from the Mogao Grottoes, with the director of the Dunhuang Research Institute, Fan Jinshi, serving as the first of 120 torchbearers.
Planners selected the Mogao Grottoes as the starting point of Dunhuang's 7.6 kilometer relay route to showcase the ancient site's historical and cultural charm as an important relic left behind that witnessed the passing of many Chinese dynasties, including the Wei, Jin, North and South and Tang Dynasties. In addition, this is the "birthplace" of one of the Fuwa, Huanhuan. Fuwa are the official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games mascots.
Next, the torch relay team will move on to Jiayuguan, the second stop in Gansu Province, to prepare for the relay of the Olympic flame there on Sunday.
(BOCOG July 5, 2008)