Last torchbearer Gu Shuangyan, vice-president of Daqing Intermediate People's Court, lit the cauldron at 9:55 a.m. on Saturday amid rain, ending the Daqing leg of the Olympic torch relay. The city of Qiqihar will host the Olympic flame on Saturday afternoon.
A total of 208 torchbearers participated in the 7.6 km-long relay.
Daqing, meaning "Great Celebration," is a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. It was founded in 1959 to house workers extracting oil and gas from the Daqing oilfield and to host industries which could take advantage of the energy and petrochemicals found here.
(BOCOG July 12, 2008)