The first day of the Olympic Torch Relay's tour through Tianjin was a success, as the last torchbearer of the day, Huang Qixing, lit the cauldron at the International Conference and Expo Center at 10:20 a.m. on Friday, August 1.

The Tianjin leg of the relay started at Tianjin Harbor Square and passed through streets along Tianjin Bonded Zone and the Economic and Technological Development Area. The route highlighted the major functions of the city's new coastal area, featuring the landmark container wharf, the coastal International Conference and Expo Center and Taida Football Stadium.

Torchbearer Liu Huan (C) runs with the torch during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in east China's Tianjin Municipality, August 1, 2008. [Xinhua]

The relay, covering a length of 10 kilometers, was led-off by torchbearer Kong Xiangrui and shared by 190 other torchbearers. Kong is the leader of the operation team of Tianjin Harbor's coal dock.

Among the torchbearers were Li Shan, a member of the Women's Volleyball team that won gold in Athens 2004, contemporary writer Feng Jicai, famous singer Liu Huan, gold medalist of the Chopin international piano contest Li Yundi, world martial arts champion Lang Rongbiao, Handball bronze medalist of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games Gao Xiumin, renown artist Ge You and Huang Qixing, president of the Executive Board of the Welfare Foundation of the Tianjin Disabled Persons' Federation.

Torchbearer Li Dejia (R) displays the torch with the next torchbearer Li Yipeng during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in north China's Olympics co-host city Tianjin, August 1, 2008. [Xinhua]

One of the four municipalities directly under the central government in China, Tianjin is called the "Pearl of Bohai Sea." Rapid economic growth and large foreign investment have brought great change to the 600-year-old and 2,270-square-kilometer city in the past 30 years.

(BOCOG August 1, 2008)