Olympic flame arrives in Beijing

The Olympic flame arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for the fifth leg of a six-week global torch relay leading up to the Athens Games in August.

A small lantern carrying the flame arrived at the Beijing International Airport at 6:23 a.m. (Beijing time) aboard a Greek chartered jumbo jet painted in Olympic colors and dubbed "Zeus" for a two-day stay in the host city of the 2008 Games.

Athens Olympic ambassador Spriros Lambridis officially handed the latern to Liu Jingmin, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Games (BOCOG).

Olympic flame arrives in Beijing

"This is the first time that the Olympic flame comes to Beijing. It is a great milestone in the city's preparations for the 2008 Olympics," said Liu.

Liu, also vice mayor of Beijing, said Athens and Beijing are much alike as they both have time-honored civilizations.

"The arrival of the flame is symbolic of the mix of two civilizations," added Liu.

The flame, which was lit in Ancient Olympia on March 25, was then carried to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall where a welcome ceremony was held and a documentary filmed.

A total of 50 children, aged between five to 11, painted a 36-meter long drawing with a theme of "welcome the Holy Fire to the Great Wall".

Steven J. McCarthy, international torch relay director for the 2004 Athens Olympics, said he was very delighted to see the Olympic flame glow on the Great Wall.

"It's incredible, and I'm very much looking forward to the torch relay tomorrow," said McCarthy.

The flame will start an eight-hour relay in Beijing on Wednesday, passing a host of symbolic sites, such as the Temple of Heaven, the Central Business District, hutongs and universities.

The Olympic flame embarked on a 78,000-kilometer (46,800-mile) journey across six continents and 33 cities when it left Greece on June 2. For the first time in history, the flame will visit Africa and South America.

The torch relay returns to Greece on July 9 for the second half of its domestic relay before the start of the Aug. 13-29 Olympics.