The 2008 Beijing Olympics Torch Relay will run until August 8, 2008, prior to the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. The relay, with the theme "Journey of Harmony", is expected to last 130 days and cover 137,000 km - the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay.

After being lit at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece on March 24, the torch traveled to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, and then to Beijing, arriving on March 31. From Beijing, the torch followed a route visiting 20 cities in five continents. In China, the relay begins in Hong Kong, then Macao and other cities such as Guangzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing and cities along the Silk Road, symbolizing ancient links between China and the rest of the world. The relay also carries the flame to the top of Mount Everest on the border of Nepal and Tibet, China from the Chinese side.