The Olympic torch will set out its relay in Shaoxing on Saturday, the second leg in southeast China's Zhejiang Province, also known as one of the birthplaces of the ancient Chinese civilization with a recorded history of over 4000 years.
Shaoxing enjoys a long history and rich cultural resources and has the most advanced ancient Yue cultures. It's an ancient town in the first list published by the State Council.
Shaoxing is the hometown to many prominent figures such as Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun and Zhou Enlai. Chairman Mao Zedang once wrote a poem, praising Shaoxing as the "home of famous names".
The relay, scheduled to kick off at 15:40 Saturday, will start from Da Yu Mausoleum. It is the resting place of Da Yu, an ancient hero who succeeded in taming the great flood.
Along the route, the torch will also pass by Da Tong School, Ying En Gate, the Chinese Yellow Wine Town and the Native residence of Mr. Luxun.
"You can know the history of Shaoxing when you walking along the route," said Shan Guoquan, the designer of the route.
According to Shan, Da Tong School was the earliest school in China that specialized in sports teaching and training, originally built from a relic site used to be an imperial academy exam center in ancient times.
Ying En Gate, Shaoxing's ancient water city gate, was located in the most prosperous area 100 years ago.
The Chinese Yellow Wine Town is specially designed to show the cultures related to the popular drink among local residents of Shaoxing for centuries.
The Native residence of Mr. Luxun is built to memorize Luxun, a great writer, thinker and revolutionist in China.
"Just as a time tunnel, the Olympic torch relay route shows the history of Shaoxing," said Shan.
(Xinhua News Agency May 17,2008)