Nobody heaved a bigger sigh of relief when the Olympic cauldron was lit last night than Huang Qijun.

Huang, 45, manufactured the Xiangyun (lucky clouds) torch and produced the safety lantern and community cauldrons used in every relay. He accompanied the torch from Greece to Beijing, where it was used to light the Cauldron.

No one was more responsible for its operation. No one was more responsible for its success.

Former Chinese gymnast Li Ning carries the Olympic flame as he is lifted to the air during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at the National Stadium August 8, 2008. [Agencies] More Photos

"I instantly felt relaxed. I was exhausted, but also excited," he told China Daily in an exclusive interview after the cauldron was ignited. "My job is done."

The handbook of the Beijing Olympic torch relay lists Huang as a BOCOG expert and a flame attendant. Of the dozens of people who accompanied the torch from Greece to Beijing, he kept the lowest profile. The slight, middle-aged man was rarely seen during the day, and no information about him was released.

"In fact, I am the true torchbearer. Almost all torches used outside the mainland went through my hands one by one," Huang said.

He and his team conducted some 7,000 tests on the Xiangyun before its journey. As a result, the torch stayed lit 99.5 percent of the time, far more than that in any previous Olympic relay.

Still, Huang was worried when he first heard how the cauldron would be lit. What turned out to be a magnificent spectacle at first seemed "too terrifying" to the torch's creator.

"I was shocked. The way the cauldron was lit was extremely risky. I don't think (the designers) ever considered the possibility that the torch's flame might go out."

Huang Qijun

"Imagine the wind up there, dozens of meters up in the air. There was no contingency plan just one man hanging there! And yet, we had to be 100 percent sure, or the entire country would be embarrassed!" Huang said.

Huang did what he could to insure success. His team simulated the environment in and around the National Stadium, performed hundreds of tests, and beefed up the torch accordingly.

He also injected seven more grams of fuel into the last torchbearer's torch, and adjusted the flame to 40 cm, slightly higher than normal. "The loop around the Bird's Nest took four minutes fifty seconds, and Xiangyun normally burns for 15 minutes," he said.

"We added a bit more fuel to make sure it kept going."

It was this attention to detail that kept Huang going during the 33-day torch relay. More than 130 delegates visited 21 cities outside the Chinese mainland, and none of them was busier than Huang.

As soon as the chartered plane reached a new city, he had to rush out and find fuel for the safety lantern and the community cauldron. After that, he would go back and assemble the torches. He rarely got a full night's sleep.