According to China's Global Times, Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang military command, who suffered a severe head injury during the border skirmish on June 15, 2020, took the flame from Wang Meng, China's four-time Olympic short track speed skating champion, at Winter Olympic Park on Wednesday.
The first leg was run by Luo Zhihuan, China's first international competitive speedskater.
A Chinese basketball legend and Olympic gold medalist, Yao Ming was the first athlete to carry the flame on the three-day journey. Due to a coronavirus outbreak, a few public will be able to see the torch relay.
Reportedly, the games, which run from February 4 to 20, are held inside a "closed-loop" bubble that isolates athletes and other Olympic personnel from the general public, and only a small number of individuals will be able to attend the activities.
The flame will travel to competition zones, including Zhangjiakou in neighbouring Hebei province, before finishing its tour with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at Friday's opening ceremony. It was flown in from Greece in October. Reportedly, the relay will feature more than 1,000 torchbearers.
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