Torch relay in Shenzhen kicks off

(SHENZHEN, May 8) -- Shenzhen residents came out in crowds to support the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay on Thursday, May 8. The relay kicked off at noon from Shenzhen Mangrove Park with Sydney 2000 Olympic Gymnastics gold medalist Xiao Junfeng as the first torchbearer. BOCCOG Torch Relay Center Deputy Director Liu Baojie lit the torch and passed it to Liu Yupu, vice secretary general of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPC, who in turn handed it to Xiao. Torchbearers carried the flame past Window of the World, the portrait of Deng Xiaoping and finally completed the relay at the Shenzhen Sports Center. Guangdong Vice Secretary General Luo Ou and Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng both gave speeches expressing best wishes for the rest of the torch relay around the Chinese mainland and for the Beijing Olympic Games. The relay in Shenzhen was the second celebration of the day for the Olympic flame. Earlier in the morning, mountaineers successfully relayed the torch to the Mt. Qomolangma summit, the world's highest peak.