Ascent to the top
Updated: 2008-05-09 07:23
The Chinese people honored their promise to the world when the Olympic torch was lit up and its flame burnt against the vast stretch of white snow on top of Qomolangma. It is the first time that the Olympic torch has ever been carried onto this world's highest mountain.
If the Olympic spirit can be described as a symbol of making the impossible possible, yesterday's feat of letting the Olympic torch glow at an altitude as 8,844.43 meters above the sea level should be considered one of the finest manifestations of this spirit.
Mount Qomolangma, as the roof of the world, has always been considered by the Chinese people, including local Tibetans, a holy place. To climb to the top of this mountain has been the dream of many mountaineers. Though mountaineering has never been included in the Olympics, the torch's ascent to the top epitomizes the spirit of a sport that challenges man's physical limits.
Taking the Olympic torch to the top of Qomolangma combined, in a way, the sport of mountaineering with the Olympics. This combination has best epitomized man's unremitting pursuit of the dream to build a better and peaceful world.
This is the message we intend to send out to the world after overcoming various difficulties during two years of preparations for this feat and finally letting the torch glow at this high altitude.
It is undoubtedly no easy job for any mountaineer to climb up to the top of this mountain. By making their way up there with the Olympic torch, our mountaineers have demonstrated to the world the determination of the Chinese people to hold a successful Olympic Games.
That the mountaineers were from different ethnic groups such as Tibetan, Hui, Tujia and Han symbolized national unity. It was a symbolic statement that made it clear that any attempt to separate any ethnic group or any part of territory from this country will be doomed to failure.
The stories about how mountaineers were trained, how meteorologists studied the weather conditions to identify the right time for the ascent to the mountain top and how scientists designed the special device to light up the torch and keep the flame burning in that thin air have all demonstrated one big thing. They showed that hosting such a world Games is indeed a good opportunity for us to test our capability to organize a complicated event and our perseverance to overcome any difficulty in achieving our goals.
(China Daily 05/09/2008 page8)
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