The Olympic flame is being passed in Qinghai, another province on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Cega, dubbed the "Father of Tibetan antelope", ran the first leg in Sunday's relay in Golmud.
Cega, a 56-year-old Tibetan, won a lot of credits for protecting Tibetan antelope over the last decade.
"I like the title of 'Tibetan Antelopes' Daddy'", says Cega.
Cega, formerly a military officer, has been fighting poachers in Hol Xil Nature Reserve for the past ten years.
Talking about the antelope, Cega dashed along on the topic. "Ten years ago when I started to take over the Hol Xil Nature Reserve, the number of Tibetan antelopes was only 20,000 and the species was greatly endangered," recounted Cega.
"Now the number is about 60,000, so I won the trust from the locals and they gave me a lot of support over years."
Cega was born in a herdsman family in Yushu, a county in Qinghai. He has been the director of the Hol Xil Nature Reserve Administration since 1998.
He said he did not know much about Tibetan antelope in his childhood, though his hometown Yushu was only 50km from the Hol Xil Nature Reserve, the world's largest natural reserve without human settlement.
His first encounter with the antelope was in 1979 when he was stationed in his hometown as a solider.
But what turned him into a watcher was the news of Sonam Dargyi's death in 1993. Dargyi was a patrol volunteer protecting the Tibetan antelope, who was killed by poachers. Dargyi story was later made into a film, Ke Ke Xi Li, by Chinese director Lu Chuan, and nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 2005 Oscars.
Dargyi's death made Cega realize the importance of wildlife and the environment and the dangers they faced from poachers and polluters.
Cega followed up Dargyi's undertaking, leading a team of passionate people, ready to risk their lives against the armed poachers.
After years of efforts against poachers, Cega thought it was time to invite the world to join their efforts to protect the antelope. So he proposed in 2005 the antelope as the mascot of the Beijing Olympics, and spent about two months lecturing about its importance and the environment to college students across China.
"It's the symbol of tenacity, indomitable spirit, robust physique, endurance and stamina, so I think no other animals can answer for the Olympic spirit as Tibetan antelope," said Cega. "It's the things you would look for in a good athlete."
His efforts have born fruits. The Tibetan antelope jumped from the bottom of an online vote for the Games mascot to the top in the end.
Source: Xinhua
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