The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic torch relay kicked off on Wednesday in Beijing. 

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, lit a torch from a cauldron at the launch ceremony held at the Olympic Forest Park, then handed it over to 80-year-old Luo Zhihuan, a former speed skater and China's first winter sports world champion.

The torch relay has been scaled down and is being held under precautionary measures due to concerns over the COVID-19 epidemic.

Some 1,200 participants will take part in the three-day torch relay, which will run through the Games' three competition zones - central Beijing, Beijing's Yanqing District, and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province. The relay will culminate with the lighting of the cauldron at the Games opening ceremony on Friday night.

The first day takes the theme "Showcasing Beijing as a dual Olympic city" as the flame makes its way to the downtown Beijing's Winter Olympic Park.

The Games will run from February 4 to 20. 

(With input from Xinhua News Agency)