2008 Summer Paralympics torch relay
The torch relay for the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games was held between August 28 and September 6 in eleven cities, and also included the tomb of Yellow Emperor. Planned Route. In 2007, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games announced the torch relay route, composed of three parts: Change of the route. In June 2008, the Beijing Games' Organizing Committee announced that the planned four international torch relay cities and four national cities for the Paralympic Games had been cancelled. The Committee stated that the relay was being cancelled to enable the Chinese government  to "focus on the rescue and relief work" following the Sichuan earthquake. The torch relay was held exclusively within China. Despite the officially stated reason for the cancellation, "The Guardian" attributed it to China's wish to avoid "a repeat of the protests" which had occurred in a number of cities around the world during the Olympics torch relay. Similarly, "The Times" wrote: "China has cancelled the international leg of the Paralympic torch relay, which was due to pass through London, in an apparent attempt to avoid similar protests to those that dogged the Olympic torch’s global tour." Reuters  reported simply: "China, whose Beijing Olympic torch relay was dogged by protest overseas, on Wednesday cancelled the international leg of the Paralympic torch relay, giving the devastating Sichuan earthquake as the reason." The relay started from Tiantan on August 28 and then divided to two parallel lines before coming together in Beijing: Final Relay in Main Stadium. Chinese athletes with disabilities carried the torch in Beijing National Stadium during the Games' Opening Ceremony. Jin Jing carried the torch into the stadium, before it was passed on to Paralympic gold medallists Wu Yunhu, Zhang Hongwei, Zhang Haidong, Sun Changting and Hou  Bin. Hou then pulled himself up on a rope to the top of the stadium to light the Paralympic flame.