HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The plane carrying the Beijing Olympic flame landed Monday night at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for Tuesday's torch relay through the heart of the city.

This is the 19th leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay around the world, and also the first time that Vietnam will host an Olympic torch relay.

The special chartered plane touched down at the airport at 23:05 local time (1505 GMT) from Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, after a six hour flight.

Some 1,000 runners, including ambassadors from other countries and Beijing citizens from different

districts and counties, took part in the 31.5 kilometers relay, which starts from the west public area of the national stadium and also ends at the "Bird's Nest".

About 10,000 people showed their support and welcome for the Beijing Olympics by attending a series of celebrating programs including the marathon relay, a 2 kilometers run and a public sports exhibition.

The activities were broadcast live via CCTV and China National Radio. Over 100 journalists covered the event.