The Beijing Olympic torch relay will kick off Friday in Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province, central China, with a shortened route and simplified ceremonies.

The relay will start at 8:00 am local time on Bayi Square in downtown area, where attendants of the launching ceremony and torch bearers will observe one minute of silence to mourn the victims in the massive earthquake in Sichuan Province.

Along the 35-kilometer-long route, the torch will pass by Nanchang University, which is the first university up to now in China to get the Olympic torch into the campus.

The torch will arrive at Century Square at around 12:30 am in the new urban area, where charity boxes will be set up to collect donations for the earthquake victims.

Nanchang is the last leg of the Olympic torch relay in Jiangxi Province. It will next reach Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)