Tibetans become a distinct part of all torch bearers in the Olympic torch relay in northwest China's Qinghai Province starting on Sunday, according to organizers in a press conference Wednesday in Xining.

The Olympic torch relay is to kick off in Geermu and then to the Qinghai Lake. The last stop of the three-day leg is the provincial capital Xining, said Feng Jianping, head of Qinghai Sports Bureau in a press conference.

"The torch bearers selected by us are from major ethnic groups in Qinghai, including Tibetan, Han, Hui, Sala and Mongolian," said Feng, "The proportion of each ethnic group differs in each stop, considering the local population."

Among 624 torch bearers of Qinghai leg, 377 are selected by Qinghai itself while the rest are chosen by the Chinese Olympic committee, Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) and major sponsors. They will run a total distance of 22.3 kilometers.

Feng did not announce the exact number of minority ethnic torch bearers in the conference. But according to the list of important torch bearers provided to the media, Tibetan torch bearers will run a high media-coverage distance in each stop.

Cega, the well-known "Tibetan Antelope Guard" who spent 10 years on anti-poaching efforts in the Hol Xil Natural Reserve, is listed as the second torch bearer in Qinghai.

Sonam Tongchi, a 18-year-old vocational school student was honored "Outstanding Student of Qinghai" and invited to be a torch bearer in Xining. He saved a 10-year-old girl from fire but got a severe burn early this year.

Tibetans consist of major part of the torch bearers in the second stop, south shore of the Tibetans' sacred Qinghai Lake. And they take up three-fourth of the first and last four torch bearers there.

Qinghai is the most Tibetan-populated province in China. Nearly one-fifth of its 5.51 million population are ethnic Tibetans.

It is also hometown of Fuwa Yingying, a Beijing Olympic mascot embodying the Tibetan antelope in Hol Xil. The Kunlun jade, which is used for making Beijing Olympic medals, or "Gold Inlaid with Jade", are also produced from the province's Kunlun Mountain.

Qinghai is called "China's Cistern" for it holds the source of Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River (section of the Mekong in China). It plays an key role in curbing climate change and keeping ecological balance in China and Southeast Asia.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2008)