Source: CCTV.com

05-14-2008 09:34

Special Report:   2008 Beijing Olympic Games

The Olympic torch relay has kicked off in Ruijin city, the first leg in Central China's Jiangxi Province.

Before the relay, a minute's silence was observed to mourn the victims of the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province in southwestern China on Monday. The ritual will be carried out during each future stop. Then Chen Xiaochun, Secretary of Ruijin city's CPC Committee, started the relay as the first torchbearer from the Yeping Red Army Square. The city's relay is scheduled to cover around 18 kilometers with 208 torchbearers. Ruijin, named the "Red Capital", is known as the cradle of the People's Republic of China and the starting point of the famed Long March of the Red Army.