The cauldron of the Beijing Olympic Games was lit by former gymnastics star Li Ning in the National Stadium in north Beijing on Friday night.

Final runners of Olympic torch relay at the National Stadium on Friday:

1. Xu Haifeng, shooting

2. Gao Min, diving

3. Li Xiaoshuang, gymnastics

4. Zhan Xugang, weightlifting

5. Zhang Jun, badminton

6. Chen Zhong, taekwondo

7. Sun Jinfang, volleyball

8. Li Ning, gymnastics

Backgrounder: Olympic torch and its global relay

From April 1 to August 8, 2008, the Beijing Olympics torch was relayed at home and abroad.

The international leg of the relay lasted 33 days, crossing the five continents and 21 countries and regions with a total length of 97,000 kilometers.

More than 2,000 torch bearers participated in the relay, which was witnessed by more than 5 million people from across the globe.

The Beijing Olympic torch relay has traveled the longest route and involved the largest number of people in Olympic history.

The torch reached the top of the Mount Qomolangma, the world's tallest peak, for the first time on May 8, 2008.

The torch was relayed in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, and the last torch bearer Li Ning lit the cauldron during the opening ceremony on Friday night.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)