Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

Kong Linghui (C), former Olympic table tennis champion, became the first torch bearer to run off the Wanzhou Middle School in Wanzhou, Chongqing, Southwestern China Sunday morning after one minute of silence observed for the victims of the deadly May 12 earthquake that hit Sichuan province. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WANZHOU, Southwest China, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Immigrators from the Three Gorges region celebrated the Beijing Olympic torch relay with enthusiasm when it kicked off in heavy rains in Wanzhou, Chongqing, Southwestern China Sunday morning.

    Kong Linghui, former Olympic table tennis champion, became the first torch bearer to run off the Wanzhou Middle School after one minute of silence observed for the victims of the deadly May 12 earthquake that hit Sichuan province.

Immigrators from the Three Gorges region celebrated the Beijing Olympic torch relay with enthusiasm when it kicked off in heavy rains in Wanzhou, Chongqing, Southwestern China Sunday morning.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Despite showers pouring down, thousands of students and immigrating residents stood around the school with smiles all over their faces, cheering for the torch relay, shooting "Go On Olympics, Go On Sichuan"

    A total of 208 torch bearers are running for 29.4 kilometers through the city, a population of 1.72 million, including 263,000 immigrators.

    Being one of the 10 biggest port cities along the Yangtze River, Wanzhou is located in the center of Three Gorges Reservoir region as the biggest immigrating city, with one fifth immigrators from the region.

    "The Beijing Olympic Games and the torch relay through the country, will surely enhance our sense of All For Fitness sports activities," said Tan Qibin, a resident at Baianba street in Wanzhou, "while China is set to become more stronger, we are going to host a successful Olympics and to create more miracles for our country and for the world as well."

    As one of the main themes, People's Olympics has been rooting among ordinary Chinese people, even for immigrating cities, such as Wanzhou.

    Fitness Corridor has been set up along the riverside boulevard in the city with variety of sports equipment, attracting thousands of residents daily for physical training.

    Residents who used to have their physical exercises by walking only, nowadays have easy access to the sports facilities even among their communities.

One minute of silence observed for the victims of the deadly May 12 earthquake that hit Sichuan province before the Beijing Olympic torch relay kicks off in heavy rains in Wanzhou, Chongqing, Southwestern China Sunday morning. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "I keep physical exercises one to two hours daily," said Xia Qingcheng who cheered for the torch relay along the rainy road, "We're putting sports activities in our daily life, and we're participating in the Olympic Movement actively."

    Sports facilities and recreational equipment have been put in place in all immigrating cities, including Wanzhou.

    "We have set up many a squares in our city, and the riverside Corridor has an area of nearly 6,000 square meters, which alone attracted some 2 million person-time last year," said Ran Molin, director of Wanzhou Sports Bureau.

    To explore the advantage of two rivers flowing through, Chongqing, with Wanzhou as its second biggest city, has carried out a Fitness Program along the banks of the rivers for ordinary people in sports activities of basketball, tennis, beach volleyball, rock climbing and swimming.

Torchbearer Dong Xuehai runs during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in Chongqing municipality in southwest China on June 15, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Ten treks have been set up along mountain roads, which recorded the footsteps of 2 million person-time last year, and more than 600,000 square meters have been allocated for sports activities in the countryside for more than 3 million peasants in Chongqing.

    Therefore, many of the torch bearers in Wanzhou are ordinary residents. Luo Yang, a nurse in the Three Gorges Central Hospital, said after her leg of the torch relay that "I likes running and I enjoys the torch relay. Running the hundred meter is an easy call for me."