Dongguan unveils torch relay route for the 2010 Asian Games

A picture of the torch for the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Dongguan is the third stop for the Asian Games flame relay which is scheduled to arrive on October 14.

On June 25, Dongguan released the first draft plan for torch relay route of the 2010 Asian Games by which the flame will travel through the city on October 14.

The flame for the 16th Asian Games will be lit at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on October 9. Following the lighting ceremony in the Chinese capital, the flame will travel south to Guangdong Province, where 2,010 torch bearers will carry the flame on a journey from October 12 - November 11 throughout the 21 major cities of Guangdong Province.

Dongguan is the third stop for the flame which is scheduled to arrive on October 14.

Accprding to the plan, the torch relay in Dongguan will start at Weiyuan Fort, an ancient military facility in Humen Township of Dongguan which had been used to defend against British invaders during the Opium War (1840-1842). The torch will pass Humen Naval Museum, and then travel to Keyuan Garden in Dongguan's urban area. After an hour-long journey in the downtown area, the torch will arrive at its final destination Dongguan Central Square. The brand new square with an area of 330 thousand sq. meters is an important landmark of Dongguan that boasts beautiful landscape.

This torch relay route represents the vivid history of Dongguan "from the past to the present modern manufacturing city", said Mr. Zhan Zhibin, a vice director of the Dongguan Sports Bureau.

Eighty bearers in Dongguan will carry the torch. Among them, forty have been recommended by the 2010 Asian Games Organizing Committee, and the other forty will be selected by the Dongguan Government.

(By Morvin Chow)