Special report: 2008 Olympic Games  

    MT. QOMOLANGMA, Tibet, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Zhijian, spokesman of the Chinese Mountaineering Team, announced on Friday a squad which will carry the Olympic flame to the top of Mount Qomolangma.

    The team, consisting of 50 members, is composed of torch bearers, coaches, officials and other working staff, Zhang said at a press conference in the Qomolangma media center which is located at about 5,040 meters above sea level.

    Zhang promised that he will announce the exact number of torch bearers in the coming news briefing.

    Zhang confirmed that the team, either the mountaineers or the supportive team, are composed of Han Chinese, ethnic Tibetans, and other ethnic groups such as ethnic Hui, Tu and Tujia.

    "It (climbing the summit) is a collective job, nobody can do it alone," said Zhang. "We have got ready mountaineers, the torch development service, the weather forecast, the logistic service and the TV broadcast team. Everyone is doing his or her own part."

    Zhang also confirmed the official name of the torch relay on Mt. Qomolangma.

    "The ascent is officially called the Beijing Olympics Torch Relay Qomolangma Leg, and the team is called the Chinese Mountaineering Team," he said.

    The torch has returned to the Chinese mainland with the first stop being run in Hong Kong on Friday.

    The relay has been billed as the most ambitious of all time, with an ascent of Mt. Qomolangma in May as the highlight.

Chinese mountaineers in progress of ascent of Olympic flame upon Qomolangma

    QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, Tibet, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese climbers are beefing up for the ascent of the Olymic flame over Qomolangma, said Zhang Zhijian, spokesman of the Chinese Mountaineering Team, Friday at a press conference in the Qomolangma media center at about 5,040 meters above sea level.

    The relay, which started in Beijing on August 8, has been billed as the most ambitious of all time, with the "high point" set to be an ascent of Mount Qomolangma in May.  Full story

Olympic torch to follow traditional route over Qomolangma, says official

    QOMOLANGMA, Tibet, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Sun Bin, chief of the Olympic Torch Relay Center Qomolangma Operations Team, confirmed on Thursday that the Beijing Olympic flame will follow the traditional route over Mount Qomolangma.

    The torch relay, ahead of the Games which start in Beijing on Aug. 8, will include a climb to the top of the world's highest mountain, which spans Nepal and the Chinese region of Tibet.

    "There are about 20 routes to the top of Mt. Qomolangma, but the traditional route upon the north slope is among the safest ones," said Sun, also a climber himself and a coach with the Chinese Mountaineering Team.  Full story

High-tech ensures Olympic torch alight on Mt. Qomolangma

    QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, April 30 (Xinhua) -- An expert with a torch design lab under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. said at the Qomolangma Base Camp on Wednesday that the Olympic torch can scale the summit without sputtering out.

    The ascent of the torch to the Mt. Qomolangma will be one of the highlights of the torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.   Full story

Precise date for ascent of Olympic flame to Mt. Qomolangma still pending

    QOMOLANGMA BASE CAMP, Tibet, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A meteorological expert said here Wednesday that precise date for the ascent of the Olympic flame to the Mt. Qomolangma is still up in the air as the weather over the world's highest peak is unstable recently.

    Yang Xingguo, who is in charge of the meteorological forecast for the ascent of the Olympic flame, told Xinhua at the Qomolangma Base Camp on Wednesday that a storm is forming in the Bangladesh Gulf south of the Mt. Qomolangma and it heads north and will add more uncertainty to the weather atop the peak.   Full story

Reporters reach Mt. Qomolangma media center for Olympic flame ascent

    QOMOLANGMA, Tibet, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Thirty reporters, the first media team, reached the Mt. Qomolangma media center Monday for covering the ascent of the Beijing Olympic flame to the world's highest peak.

    The media center, built at an altitude of 5,040 meters, was initiated on April 2, Yang Zhanqi, an official with the media center told Xinhua Monday.

    The first team consists of 19 Chinese and 11 foreign journalists.  Full story