The Beijing Olympic torch relay in Henan, China's most populous province, wound up on Monday.
In Anyang City, the last leg of the relay in this central province, the torch passed through the hands of altogether 208 torchbearers over a distance of 5.9 kilometers, before it reached the destination at the Anyang Foreign Language School. Hundreds of thousands of people, cheering and waving colorful flags, were waiting for its arrival.
"The sacred flame has illuminated the ancient city, making it more beautiful," said Anyang Mayor Zhang Xiaodong at a grand ceremony marking the end of the relay.
The last leg of the Anyang relay was run by Li Guanqi, a Henan native with great achievement in the study of soybean protein fiber.
Anyang was the fourth and last stop of the Olympic torch's tour in Henan, which has a population of nearly 100 million. The other three cities are the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Luoyang.
The torch is leaving Henan for Hebei, a north China province that encircles Beijing.
(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)