An engineer from Beijing Shougang Automation Information Technology Co., LTD, and member of the TS project team, provided a simple presentation on the automatic control system at the press conference on August 12, 2008. [Wang Wei/China.org.cn]

Li Tingxiang, manager of the TS project, said the outer structure of the main torch is composed of 1, 026 steel plates. The cost was in the region of tens of million yuan, although the exact figure is not yet known.

Along with Shougang, there were four other corporations involved in this major project, including the Beijing Gas Group and the Center for Engineering Design and Research under the General Armaments Department of the People's Liberation Army.

To welcome the world's greatest event to Beijing, Shougang, as a large state-owned corporation, invested an enormous effort in the hosting of the 2008 Olympics. With the Bird's Nest stadium as a model, Shougang built a full-size training site in Daxing, one of Beijing's suburbs, in the space of less than three months. Zhang Yimou, general director of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, speaks highly of the achievement. In addition to the "blue earth", the core stage for the ceremony, which was installed by Shougang, the construction of "Dancing Beijing" on Tian'anmen Square was another great success.

A successful Olympics will be a tribute to the efforts of Shougang Group staff. "Shougang employees could barely hold back their tears at the moment of the lighting of the cauldron on August 8," said Wang.

Li Ning was prepared to light the cauldron on the Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony on August 8, 2008. [Guo Dayue/Xinhua]

(China.org.cn August 13, 2008)