Air China announced today that in accordance with the principles of "Openness, Impartiality and Transparency," and in line with the Criteria for Selecting Olympic Torchbearers, a list of 20 Air China Olympic torchbearers has been finalized upon the approval of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The Company also announced that the relay route for the torchbearers has been confirmed.

Under the leadership of the vice president of Air China, Song Zhiyong, Air China has selected 20 candidates to represent the Company as Olympic torchbearers.

The relay route for the Air China torchbearers, within the territory of China, is as follows: Haikou (Hainan), Quanzhou-Xiamen (Fujian), Jingangshan (Jiangxi), Taizhou-Yangzhou (Jiangsu), Guilin (Guangxi), Guiyang (Guizhou), Chongqing, Zigong-Yibin (Sichuan), Lhasa (Tibet), Shihezi-Changji (Xinjiang), Dunhuang-Jiayuguan (Gansu), Zhongwei (Ningxia), Yangling-Xianyang (Shaanxi), Yuncheng-Pingyao (Shanxi), Huhhot (Inner Mongolia), Jilin (Jilin), Shenyang (Liaoning), Linyi-Qufu-Taian (Shandong), Shangqiu-Kaifeng (Henan) and Beijing.

The 20 honoured torchbearers will help Air China "light the passion and share the dream," spreading the Olympic spirit throughout the country from May 6, 2008 to August 6, 2008. The relay route will also help spread the theme behind the Olympic torch, the "Peace Tour." Ever since the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, the torch relay has become a key event in communicating the Olympic spirit. Air China is also a proud carrier of the Olympic torch and as the sole Airline Partner of the 2008 Olympic Games, Air China is performing its commitment to actively ensure the successful staging of the 2008 Games.