The Olympic Flame passed along the Qinghai Lake, a sacred lake in heart of Tibetan people, on Monday morning, greeted by white hada and barley wine.

The Qinghai Lake is the second stop of the Flame in the northwest Qinghai Province.

A total of 162 torchbearers ran 6 kilometers along the south lakeshore, where located Gonghe County, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Hainan. Nearly half of the torchbearers are Tibetans.

"My village is more than 180 kilometers far from here. There are some of my villagers coming to see me pass the Flame today," said the second torchbearer Cesauja, a retired village Party secretary.

Hundreds of richly dressed local Tibetan people gathered in the starting ceremony, which began on 10:50 a.m., singing and dancing to welcome the Flame.

"I'm very happy and excited. I've never thought of being chosen as the first torchbearer in the Qinghai Lake, our beautiful, sacred Qinghai Lake," said the first torchbearer Dagar, an ethnic Mongolian doctor.

From the starting point to the end, local residents including dozens of young Tibetan students greeted the Flame and torchbearers with a nearly-6 km-long white hada on the way, a precious gift to welcome guest from afar.

"I'm a indigenous Tibetan here. I'm very proud to carry the torch and run along our scared lake," said the 104th torchbearer Doje Cerang, "It feels so great!"

Source: Xinhua