Photo released on Jan. 16, 2008 at a press conference shows the Beijing Olympic cauldron design. The press conference was held in Beijing Olympic Media Center of China Wednesday. Beijing Olympics organizers unveiled Wednesday the image and look of the torch relay that are full of Chinese feature. Based on the Olympic rings, theme slogan, core graphics and colors of the torch relay, the look of the relay was created with the elements of a phoenix pattern, lucky clouds and Chinese red. Rich with the characteristics of the times, it reflects the combination of Olympic spirit and traditional Chinese culture to the fullest. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Olympics organizers Wednesday unveiled the image and look of the torch relay that are full of Chinese feature.

    The design of the image and look of the torch relay includes five components - the torch and collaterals; the torch relay uniforms; the convoy and chartered aircraft; the backdrop; and the city look.

    "Blue and red dominate the backdrops for the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which adapt to the characteristics of different scenes, with the aim of transmitting the excitement of the torch relay," Qu Yingpu, spokesman for the Beijing Organizing Committee's Torch Relay Center, told reporters at the unveiling ceremony.

    The inspiration for the original design of the torch relay lantern comes from the traditional lanterns used inside ancient Chinese palaces. The silver luster of the lantern coupled with crystal-clear glass serves as a foil to the flame and communicates the Olympic flame's sanctity and purity.

    The torch stand's design borrows from the architectural styles of the Han and Tang dynasties, with its base showcasing "lucky clouds" drifting away, as if gently calling out to the torch.

    The Beijing Olympic cauldron is based on the concept of a "round heaven and square earth" and uses a typical cauldron in the Chinese Bronze Age as well as the "lucky clouds" as its creative elements.

    The 56 "lucky clouds" hollowed out of the curved plate of the Olympic cauldron symbolize well wishes to the world from the 56 ethnic groups in China, while the base of the cauldron has four legs with eight faces, symbolizing that the Beijing Olympic Games welcomes friends from all directions across the world, said Qu.

    The Olympic cauldron stands 130 centimeters high, symbolizing the 130-day duration of the torch relay. The cauldron plate is 29 centimeters deep, symbolizing the 29th Olympiad. The cauldron post is 112 meters tall, symbolizing the 112 years that have passed between the staging of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and the 2008 Olympic Games.

    The look of the convoy for the torch relay takes red and yellow as its basic colors, echoing the colors of the sacred flame and the torch, creating an exciting and dynamic visual effect and making the convoy a true mobile carrier of the Olympic spirit and the concepts of the Beijing Olympics.

    The convoy consists of 13 automobiles and six motorcycles. Except for the police car and the ambulance, every other type of vehicle has a unique look but shares integral components with the rest of the convoy.

    The design of the chartered aircraft highlight the message of the Beijing 2008 Olympic torch relay and the slogan of "Light the Passion Share the Dream".

    The uniforms for the Beijing Olympic torch relay include those for torchbearers, escort runners and staff members. As required by the IOC, white should be the basic color of the torchbearers' uniforms. The basic elements of the escort runners' uniforms are similar to those of the torchbearers, but their basic color is blue.

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