Tibet is to greet the Olympic torch with flowers and distinctive folk dances, when it arrives in the regional capital of Lhasa on Saturday.

The images of five Fuwas, mascots of the Beijing Olympics, are displayed in flowers in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

The city's main streets are decorated with signboards carrying slogans, such as "Light the Passion, Share the Dream," "Bless the Motherland, Joyfully Greet the Olympics," "Great Ethnic Unity" and "Welcome to Lhasa."

The national five-star red flags are flying on houses and cars with "Go Beijing" signs pasted on their window panes can be seen almost everywhere.

"I'm very excited that I've been chosen to be a torch bearer, which gives me a feeling almost the same as that in 1960 when I reached the top of Mt. Qomolangma," said Gonpo, a 75-year-old Tibetan mountaineering hero.

Gonpo was among the first Chinese to climb to the top of Mt. Qomolangma, the peak of the earth. Gonpo, Wang Fuzhou and Qu Yinhua were also the first to make the successful attempt via the North Ridge.

"I've long wished the Olympics could be held in Beijing, and I felt proud that the Olympic flame reached the top of Mt. Qomolangma on May 8," he said.

"Now, my physical condition is not as good as before, but I'll show my best while relaying the torch --if I cannot run, I'll walk," he said.

To greet the Olympic torch, 67-year-old Drolkar is busy rehearsing folk dances with a group of retirees.

"Everybody is active and ardent. We hope we can bring more vitality to the Olympics," she said.

The arrival of the torch is also being heatedly discussed in a small village of Douyu on the China-India border, where people of the Lhoba ethnic group live, said Xiaojiayou, the village's Communist Party secretary.

"We learned of the Olympic torch relay via radio and TV. Some of the villagers even plan to go to Lhasa to see the event," she said.

Xiaojiayou, aged 54, is also a member of the Lhoba ethnic group, a small branch of Tibetans with only 2,000 people.

"In the past, villagers here lived an almost isolated life due to poor transport and communications. They didn't even know what an Olympics was," she said.