Some 170 Chinese will perform at the closing ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games on August 29 at the Olympic Stadium after the Olympic flag has been handed to Beijing, a top Chinese official revealed Thursday.

Liu Jingmin, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, told reporters at a press conference that the performance will last eight minutes.

But he declined to reveal any more details about the Chinese show and said it's a secret "that cannot be released to so many people."

He said that Beijing mayor Wang Qishan will take over the Olympic flag at the ceremony, followed by the eight-minute traditional Chinese art performance, which bears the theme of "from Olympia to the Great Wall."

"That will mark a new stage for our preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games," he said.

Reports back in China earlier said that the performance will be directed by world-famed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou.