11th National Games of The People's Republic of China - Torch Relay

Torch Relay

The torch of the 12th National Games, first unveiled on April 28, 2009, is based on the concept of ruyi (如意), a traditional Chinese ceremonial scepter. The torch is 69 cm long. It is designed to resemble the ruyi with gold and silver being the colour theme. At the top, the golden willow pattern is combined with the grey ruyi stripes. The mouth of the torch is shaped like the lotus, which is the city flower of Jinan. Also, the main venue for the games, the Jinan Olympic Sports Center, is also known as Donghe Xiliu (East Willow, West Lotus) due to its distinctive architecture.

Mirroring the 2008 Olympic Games, a torch relay began on August 1, 2009 at Mount Taishan, a cultural site with a tradition of spiritual pilgrimages. The flame was lit in a sun ray ceremony by Beijing Olympics gold medalists archer Zhang Juanjuan and diver Wang Feng. On August 16, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Wu Bangguo received the torch at the Great Hall of the People which officially marked the start of the relay. The torch was then carried on a two-month relay around the China, including through the major centres of Shandong.

The route of the torch relay was (in chronological order): Mount Taishan, Shandong → Beijing → Tianjin → Shijiazhuang, Hebei → Shenyang, Liaoning → Changchun, Jilin → Harbin, Heilongjiang → Hohhot, Inner Mongolia → Taiyuan, Shandong → Xi'an, Shaanxi → Lanzhou, Gansu → Xining, Qinghai → Ürümqi, Xinjiang → Lhasa, Tibet → Kunming, Yunnan → Chengdu, Sichuan → Chongqing → Guiyang, Guizhou → Nanning, Guangxi → Changsha, Hunan → Zhengzhou, Henan → Hefei, Anhui → Nanchang, Jiangxi → Guangzhou, Guangdong → Haikou, Hainan → Macau → Hong Kong → Fuzhou, Fujian → Hangzhou, Zhejiang → Shanghai → Nanjing, Jiangsu.

The Shandong leg included the following cities (in chronological order): Qingdao → Weihai → Yantai → Weifang → Rizhao → Linyi → Zaozhuang → Jining → Heze → Liaocheng → Dezhou → Binzhou → Dongying → Zibo → Laiwu → Tai'an → Jinan.