China issues commemorative metal bars for 2008 Olympic torch

China Gold Coin Corporation has issued a set of gold and silver commemorative bars to mark the torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The four gold bars weigh between 29 grams and 1,000 grams, and the six silver bars inlaid with gold weigh between 50.5 grams and 1,001 grams.

One side of the bars bears the shapes of the Beijing Olympics logo and the Temple of Heaven, an ancient building and historical site in Beijing. The other side pictures the Olympic torch.

The price will determined by the Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games.

The price of gold in Shanghai Gold Exchanges was about 168 yuan a gram on Monday, which would make the cost of the gold in the largest bar worth 168,000 yuan.

The 137,000-km torch relay route was revealed last Thursday.

(One U.S. dollar equals to 7.73 yuan)

Source: Xinhuant into operation last July.

The region reported 110,000 visitors to Tibet in the first quarter of 2007, up 15.8 percent year-on-year, and is expected to receive more than three million tourists this year.

Earlier reports also suggested that a luxury tourist train is expected to make its debut this year on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

Source: Xinhua