A Chinese mountaineering team took the Olympic flame to the top of the world Thursday, a spectacular feat dreamed up to underscore China’s ambitions for the Beijing games.The climbers could be heard struggling for breath in a live television broadcast as five torchbearers each shuffled a few feet before passing on the flame to the next person. A colorful Tibetan prayer flag lined the path and fluttered in the wind.
The final torchbearer, a Tibetan woman named Cering Wangmo, stood silently on the peak with her torch while other team members unfurled small Chinese and Olympic flags. They then clustered together, cheering “We made it,” and “Beijing welcomes you.”
“One World, One Dream,” team captain Nyima Cering yelled as his torch was lit, repeating the slogan for the Beijing Olympics. “We have lit the torch on top of the world,” another climber said.
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