"It's a recognition and a show of respect for us artists to be selected as torchbearer. That's really encouraging.

"I would go to watch the Beijing Games for sure. Luckily I have got tickets for the opening ceremony and a couple of semifinal tickets, but tickets for my favorite sports like 110m hurdles, volleyball and diving are not available yet," said Lau.

Yu Cuiyi, quadruple gold medalist in fencing in the Athens Paralympics, ran in the ninth leg.

"I feel nervous in the moment of touching the torch. It moved me more than the last Paralympics did," said Yu, who was among "Ten Outstanding Youth of Hong Kong" in 2007.

"I am anticipating to take part in the Beijing Paralympics in September and I think it will be a great joy to compete there. Now I need to train five days a week to keep in form," said she.