Official Website 2008 Olympics Olympic Torch Relay "Journey of Harmony" (Olympia, San Francisco, Qingdao, Beijing)

Olympic Torch Relay "Journey of Harmony" (Olympia, San Francisco, Qingdao, Beijing)

According to tradition, on March 25th 2008, the Olympic Flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece.   The Torch Relay will travel across Greece, ending at the Panathinaiko Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. After the handover ceremony in the stadium, the Olympic Flame will arrive in Beijing on March 31, 2008.  A ceremony will be held for the arrival of the flame into China and the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay will commence.  The torch will travel to 20 countries on its way back to Beijing for the opening ceremonies on August 8th 2008. The cities along the "Journey of Harmony" route are: Beijing, Almaty, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, London, Paris, San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Dar Es Salaam, Muscat, Islamabad, Mumbai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Canberra, Nagano, Seoul, Pyongyang, Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei, Hong Kong, Macao, Hainan Province (Sanya, Wuzhishan, Wanning, Haikou), Guangdong Province (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Shantou), Fujian Province (Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen, Longyan), Jiangxi Province (Ruijin, Jinggangshan, Nanchang), Zhejiang Province (Wenzhou, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jiaxing), Shanghai, Jiangsu Province (Suzhou, Nantong, Taizhou, Yangzhou, Nanjing), An'hui Province (Hefei, Huainan, Wuhu, Jixi, Huangshan), Hubei Province (Wuhan, Yichang, Jingzhou), Hunan Province (Yueyang, Changsha, Shaoshan), Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Guilin, Nanning, Baise), Yunnan Province (Kunming, Lijiang, Xamgyi'nyilha), Guizhou Province (Guiyang, Kaili, Zunyi), Chongqing, Sichuang Province (Guang'an, Mianyang, Guanghan, Leshan, Zigong, Yibin, Chengdu), Tibet Autonomous Region (Shannan Diqu, Lhasa), Qinghai Province (Golmud, Qinghai Hu, Xining), Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Urumqi, Kashi, Shihezi, Changji), Gansu Province (Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Tianshui, Lanzhou), Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Zhongwei, Wuzhong, Yinchuan), Shaanxi Province (Yan'an, Yangling, Xianyang, Xi'an), Shanxi Province (Yuncheng, Pingyao, Taiyuan, Datong), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Hohhot, Ordos, Baotou, Chifeng), Heilongjiang Province (Qiqihar, Daqing, Harbin), Jilin Province (Songyuan, Changchun, Jilin, Yanji), Liaoning Province (Shenyang, Benxi, Liaoyang, Anshan, Dalian), Shandong Province (Yantai, Weihai, Qingdao, Rizhao, Linyi, Qufu, Tai'an, Jinan), Henan Province (Shangqiu, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Anyang), Hebei Province (Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan), Tianjin, and Beijing. This journey will include an attempt to bring the Olympic Flame to the highest peak in the world Mt. Qomolangma (Everest). During the arrival ceremony for the flame into China on March 31, 2008, one of the lanterns with the Olympic Flame will be kept aside. The torchbearer team will then attempt to take the Flame to the highest peak on a day in May that presents the best climatic conditions for the ascent. Source:  Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad,  photograph © AP/Lenovo