Landscape painting

thousand middle school children waving miniature Chinese and Olympics flags attended the ceremony, which also marks the first time the flame has been carried on the mainland."This shows how fast our country has progressed," said 14-year-old Wang Xirui. "I'm so happy to be here. It makes any Chinese proud."Many roads were closed off and curious onlookers lined up to see what was going on. Several waved flags. One street banner read "Pass the flame, united the world."Chinese NBA star Yao Ming will carry the torch to ignite a ceremonial cauldron before a celebration at the palace, organizers said.Other torchbearers include former Olympic table tennis champion Deng Yaping and gymnast Sang Lan, paralyzed from the waist down in a fall.The torch is to be carried 46,800 miles across six continents, 27 countries and 33 cities by about 11,000 runners.It is scheduled to travel to New Delhi next.