A group of young volunteers from Yanshan University in Qinhuangdao city ignited the torchlight at the Laolongtou Great Wall on Saturday, kicking off the 2005 China Youth Great Wall Tour.

Setting forth from Laolongtou at Shanhaiguan Pass, the eastern end of the Great Wall, participants will travel 7,000 kilometers to Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu.

The 16-day tour is to take them to all the famous passes along the Great Wall. All participants are expected to arrive at the Jiayuguan Pass, the western end of the Great Wall on September 18, 2005.

(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2005)