"The great comprehensive national strength gives us confidence that we will surely do well in the earthquake relief work and hold the best Olympic Games," said the 69-year-old torchbearer E'Dongchen in the Olympic torch relay Wuhan leg, central China's Hubei province on Saturday.

As the director of the Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, E'Dongchen has ever visited South Pole for six times and Arctic Pole for four times.

He is the only person that witnessed the establishment of Chinese Great-Wall Station in Antarctica, Zhongshan Station and Chinese Arctic Yellow River Station.

Renowned as a pioneer in Chinese polar surveying and mapping field, the expert said Chinese representatives were ever deprived of the qualification to the 12th Antarctic Treaty Conference in 1983, as China had not built exploratory station in South Pole. Now the humiliation is dispersing with the establishment of a series of stations.

"It shows the great comprehensive national strength of our country, so is the rapid reaction to rescue Sichuan earthquake victims," he said.

"I'm very excited to be a torchbearer this time. The sacred Olympic torch witnesses the development of China and passes on the love of all Chinese people,"

As the oldest torchbearer in the Wuhan leg, E told Xinhua that he insists on doing physical exercise everyday.

"The Olympic flame seems to ignite my life and makes me feel the fire of my life is still burning."

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2008)