Olympic torch relay kicks off in Changchun

(CHANGCHUN, July 14) -- The Olympic Torch Relay kicked off in Changchun at 8:08 a.m. on Monday, July 14. Altogether 218 torchbearers will carry the Olympic flame along this nine-km-long journey.

Wang Jiaqi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was the first torchbearer.

Changchun is the capital of Jilin Province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China. The city has a population of 7.4 million.