The World Cup trophy, which represents the highest honor in international football, arrived in Beijing on Monday kicking-off the China leg of its round-the-world tour.

Beijing is the 19th stop of the "FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca Cola", a three-month tour of 28 countries that started in Accra, Ghana, on January 7.

The trophy goes on display for three days at Peking University from Wednesday.

"Of course it's the real one! It isn't a replica. FIFA president Joseph S. Blatter will present this very same trophy to the captain of this year's World Cup winner. It is made of pure gold," FIFA Media Committee member Emmanuel Maradas told Xinhua.

"China is a member of the international football family, and we are sad that they failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany this summer. But we know China has a large number of football fans and we hope they will at least get to see the display."

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2006)