The first ever underwater relay of the Olympic torch between two robots was successfully performed in China on Wednesday, a video has revealed.

The handover involved the flame being submerged via special torches for around eight minutes, and was held in the middle of the icy Yongding River.

Each of the curling-stone-shaped robots held a metallic red and silver torch in their arms to pass the flame with, during this leg of its three day journey through Beijing.

The opening ceremony of this year's Winter Games will be held on February 4 at 8pm CST (12pm GMT) at the Beijing Nation Stadium, also known as the 'Bird's Nest'. 

The first of the two robots received the flame from An Guoyu — the 254th human torchbearer since the flame left Olympia, in Greece, on October 18 last year — before taking the plunge into the chilly depths of the Yongding River. (Daily Mail)