Olympic torch relay begins final leg

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic torch relay began its final leg in Beijing from the landmark Forbidden City Wednesday morning.

The Olympic torch relay kicks off from the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing leg.

At the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, the torch was handed over to the first bearer, Yang Liwei, the country's first astronaut, by Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG).

The Olympic flame will travel in the Olympic host city for three days joined by a total of 841 torch bearers.

On its first day, the torch will travel 16.4 km in just over four hours through seven districts, passing city landmarks, including Tian'anmen Square, the egg-shaped National Center for the Performing Arts and Qianmen (the Southern Gate). It will end at the Temple of Heaven.

Among the 433 bearers, there are big names and ordinary people. Yao Ming, China's most popular basketball star, was the ninth bearer.

Yao Ming is passing the Olympic torch.

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