China ready to bring Olympic torch to world's tallest peak

One of the promises that China made when it bid for the 2008 Olympics was that the Olympic torch would reach the world's tallest peak, Mount Qomolongma.

Deputy general manager Xue Li with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, designer of the 2008 Olympic torch, said that a lab has been established to develop a special Olympic flame that can overcome adverse natural conditions such as thin air, gales, glaring sunlight and hailstone.

Xue Li, a delegate to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, said that the flame would be about 20 to 30 centimeters high, "should be bright and very pleasant to the eyes," Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Chinese technicians have made a number of innovations to make sure the flame could withstand wind and storms on top of the peak, which is more popularly known in the West as Mount Everest. The mountain rises 8844.43 meters above sea level, according to a Chinese survey in 2005.

Xue said that the fuel for the flame would be well-stored and pollution-free.

Liu Peng, head of the General Administration of Sport and a delegate to the same congress, said that Chinese mountaineers enjoyed an advantage as many Chinese athletes have scaled the mountain. He also said that technical difficulties on relaying TV signals from the roof of the world have also been solved.