Han Ximin

SHENZHEN will conduct an Olympic torch relay rehearsal this morning, in order to test the schedule and traffic conditions for the real relay that will be held in the city May 8.

The trial run, scheduled from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., will start at the Citizens’ Center and end at Shenzhen Stadium, following the set 40-kilometer route, Qiao Hong, a senior official with the Shenzhen Municipal Sports Bureau, said at an interview yesterday.

Some roads will be closed during the rehearsal, including sections of Shennan Road and Binhai Thoroughfare, Qiao said.

“People won’t be affected much as the closures will be lifted as soon as torchbearers pass,” he said.

Most of the torchbearers will travel by bus under police escort. Eight of them, all athletes selected by the bureau, will each run 200 meters.

The Beijing Olympic flame will arrive in Shenzhen on May 8 for a 40-kilometer tour of the city involving a total of 208 torchbearers.

Among the torchbearers will be 18 expatriates from Italy, Denmark, Norway, the United States, South Korea and Belgium.

Shenzhen Vice Mayor Liang Daoxing will be the first to carry the torch while Wang Qihong, coach of Shenzhen’s athletics team, will run the final leg, carrying the flame to Shenzhen Stadium at 6 p.m.

Guangdong Province will be the second province on the mainland leg of the relay, which will make its first mainland stop in Sanya, Hainan Province, on May 4.