Amateur cyclist Yang Guangwen set out Friday from Beijing's Tian'anmen Square to start his global tour to promote Beijing Games 2008.

Yang pose for a picture with his  bike. [Chinadaily.com.cn]

Yang is expected to thread all Olympic Games host cities and carry out some civilian exchange actions.

The 46-year-old has prepared for two years for his ambitious plan, including selling off some of his business to amass the funds and cycling 30 kilometers plus 2,000-meter-swimming each day to keep fit.

A former businessman, Yang quit his business after his company was able to provide a stable financial support in the event of no sponsorship.

Yang's motivation to launch the odessy comes from the notion that individual Chinese should do something to promote the image of the Games.

"This is a civilian act to promote the Olympic spirit around the world before the 2008 Games in Beijing," Yang said. "Compared to the high-profile official promotion of the Beijing Games, civilian promotion seems to be quite insufficient."

"As a sports lover, I am pleased to promote the Games with my cycle," said Yang, believing his solo six-month trip would bring to the world the goodwill of Chinese people and take back home many good wishes.

"I'll travel and speak to people around globe, telling them how Chinese are in favor of the notion of Olympism - friendship, solidarity, and peace," a resolute Yang said. "I'll record 2,008 wishes for the Beijing Games from 2,008 people during my trip and send them to the Games' headquarter in Lausanne (Switzerland)."

Starting from Beijing, Yang will first go to China's Far East neighbors, South Korea's Seoul and Japan's Tokyo. From there he will fly to Australia to cross the remote outback, ending the journey at Melbourne.

Crossing the Pacific, he'll land at Mexico City (Mexico) and ride through all Games hosts in the American continent to reach Montreal (Canada), from where he will cross the Atlantic to Athens (Greece). He will end his visit to a cluster of European host cities, capped with a trip to Moscow (Russia), and from where he will ride back to Beijing.