The Olympic torch started its final-hours relay on Friday morning at Zhoukoudian, a UNESCO heritage site in southwestern Beijing suburb which has yielded many archaeological discoveries.
 |
|
The first torchbearer Feng Gong (R2) [Xinhua]
|
Amid loud music and cheers, the first torchbearer Feng Gong, one of the best Chinese comedians, carried the torch and started running at around 7:05 a.m.
Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District is about 48 km southwest of downtown Beijing. It is most famous as the site where the archaeological treasure Peking Man, one of the first specimens of Homo erectus, is discovered. The Peking Man skull fossil dates back 200,000 to 700,000 years.
 |
|
The first torchbearer Feng Gong holds up the torch at the start of the last-day of Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Zhoukoudian of Beijing, China, Aug. 8, 2008. The Olympic torch started its final-hours relay on Friday morning at Zhoukoudian, an UNESCO heritage site in southwestern Beijing suburb which has yielded many archaeological discoveries. [Xing Guangli/Xinhua]
|
"As the first torchbearer at Zhoukoudian, it is an honor for my whole life. Though I just ran for 70 to 80 meters, it seemed to me that I have passed through the tunnel of time and space," Feng told Xinhua after his stretch.
![The launching ceremony of the final day of the Olympic torch relay[Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080808/000802c98ccc0a05d08804.jpg "The launching ceremony of the final day of the Olympic torch relay[Xinhua]") |
|
The launching ceremony of the final day of the Olympic torch relay. [Xinhua]
|