The Olympic torch relay continued Sunday in China's western Qinghai
province as it made its way through the country's sensitive minority
regions.
State television showed the torch being paraded through
Qinghai's industrial city of Golmud, closely guarded by security
personnel dressed in blue and white track suits and wearing
sunglasses. The torch will be in Qinghai for three days.
Qinghai,
which has a large Tibetan population, was hit by unrest after rare
peaceful protests in Tibet turned violent in March, and China launched
a crackdown.
The crackdown triggered protests during the
international tour of the Olympic flame. Domestic legs of the relay
have had no major disruptions.
After Golmud, the torch will head to Qinghai Lake and then go on to the provincial capital of Xining.
The torch arrived in Qinghai on Saturday after a brief one-day stop under tight security in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
The
relay began at the exiled Tibetan leader Dalai Lama's former summer
palace, Norbulingka, and ended at the hilltop Potala Palace - the
traditional seat of Tibetan rulers.
Hand-picked spectators
cheered runners as they carried the torch through the sealed-off city,
while police and soldiers lined the relay route to prevent any unrest.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP.
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