New Delhi, April 17: Chinese officials have hailed the "successful and peaceful" relay of the Beijing Olympic torch through the Indian capital Thursday that belied their anxieties about Tibetan protesters marring the show.

"The torch relay has been successful and peaceful. We are happy and relieved at the way it has gone," a Chinese embassy official, who did not wish to be named, told IANS minutes before the torch was to be flown from India to Thailand on its next leg of world tour.

The torch passed through the heart of the Indian capital peacefully Thursday, with multiple layers of security making sure that that nothing went wrong.

Tibetan protesters were not allowed anywhere close to the run from Raisina Hill, with the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan in the backdrop, to the India Gate memorial a couple of kilometres away.