HONG KONG: After a month traveling the globe, visiting 19 cities on five continents, the Olympic torch yesterday returned home, where it will begin its run for the finish line, via Hong Kong, Macao and 113 mainland cities.

"We've come a long way and now we're about to enter our own country's territory. I'm very excited," Qu Yingpu, spokesman for the Beijing Olympic torch relay, said just before the plane carrying the torch landed in Hong Kong.

"We have experienced many things on the road during the past month. There were sunny days and shady days, but the best part was seeing all the smiling faces of supporters along the way," he said.

"We've gained a lot," he said.

The flame's entourage flew in from Ho Chi Minh City and will tomorrow witness the relay in the special administrative region - Hong Kong's third, after Japan 1964 and Athens 2004 - before leaving for Macao. At a planned 55.5 hours, the torch's stay in Hong Kong is the longest on its 33-day voyage.

In both Hong Kong and Macao, 120 people will serve as torchbearers, 50 percent more than the 80 allowed in foreign cities.

Swimmer-turned-singer Alex Lik-Sun Fong said he cannot wait to carry the flame.

Coming from a family of swimmers and having spent about a dozen birthdays by the pool, Fong broke his first of many Hong Kong swimming records at the age of 15, and competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics five years later, where he broke two more regional records.

Although he retired in 2002, he still holds a number of local records, including the 100 m and 200 m backstroke.

Fong carried the torch for the Athens 2004 Games in Hong Kong and said he is still fit enough to run his 200-m leg tomorrow. He completed a marathon earlier in the year in less than four hours, he said.

"Two organizations chose me as a torchbearer for the Beijing Olympics - one a commercial sponsor and the other the Hong Kong Olympics Organizing Committee. I preferred the latter because I put great emphasis on my identity as an athlete," Fong told China Daily.

"I followed the Union Jack into the stadium when representing Hong Kong at the East Asian Games during the years of British rule. But the emotions of Hong Kong athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics are unique - there is a sense of returning among us," he said.

"I know very well the story of Liu Changchun (the first Chinese Olympian), the history of China's prolonged absence from the Games due to political reasons, and am aware of the glorious achievements China has made since it resumed its legal seat in the IOC," Fong said.

"Deng Xiaoping said that having been poor for so long, China must grasp its opportunities. The Beijing Olympics is one such opportunity. The arrival of the torch relay in Hong Kong is an uplifting moment; Hongkongers are proud to be Chinese and take joy from China's accomplishments."

After Hong Kong and Macao, the Olympic torch will begin its journey across mainland China, starting in Sanya, Hainan province on Sunday.

(China Daily 05/01/2008 page1)