Special Supplement: China Netcom shares the quest to Qomolangma

At 9 am on May 8 the lantern carrying the flame for the 2008 Olympic Games arrived at the summit of 8,848.43-m Mount Qomolangma. Ten minutes later, Chinese mountaineer Norbu Zhamdu lit the torch carried by climber Gyigyi with the flame in the lantern.

The relay to the top of Qomolangma started at 9:11 am with Gyigyi the first to hold the torch, which was then passed to Wang Yongfeng, Nyima Cering, Huang Chungui and Cering Wangmo, the last bearer. The relay lasted for six minutes.

The five torchbearers and 14 other members of the mountain climbing team unfurled the Chinese, Olympic and Beijing Olympic flags. They cheered and as they clustered around the torch.

The achievement was broadcast live by China Central Television and Beijing Television.

It was the Olympic flame's first trip to the world's highest mountain.

Two China Netcom employees, Song Jie and Wu Shidong, also witnessed the historic moment.

An official partner of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, China Netcom provided transmission services for Beijing Television's broadcasts from a station at the mission's base camp at 5,200 m on Mount Qomolangma. Live signals were broadcast to Beijing, enabling real-time coverage to the television station's audience in Beijing and the entire nation.

The China Netcom team traveled to Lhasa, capital of Tibet, on April 24 and arrived at Mount Qomolangma Base Camp on April 28.

The two-person Netcom team spent two weeks at the base camp before the final assault began. Despite below-zero temperatures, altitude sickness, violent storms and heavy snows, they transmitted a large number of news reports to Beijing - illustrating that the telecom company not only has strong technology, but also a team able to overcome Qomolangma's extreme conditions.

(China Daily 05/12/2008 page6)