Universiade torch relay

The torch relay for the 31st FISU Summer World University Games or Universiade, kicked off on Saturday in Beijing, with 32 torchbearers running 2.5 km within one hour. A flight carrying the flame for the Universiade flew to Beijing from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Thursday morning.

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang lit the torch from a cauldron at the launch ceremony held at the Centennial Lecture Hall of Peking University, then handed it to the first torchbearer Zou Jingyuan, 2020 Olympic champion from Sichuan Province.

The torch will be relayed in five Chinese cities, namely, Beijing, Harbin, Shenzhen, Chongqing and Yibin. It will light the main cauldron on July 28 at the opening ceremony of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games, which will run till August 8.