FUZHOU - The Olympic torch relay turned out to be a carnival on Sunday for the 6.7 million people in this southern port city in Fujian province.

Roofs of buildings become a top choice for crowds searching for good positions to catch the Olympic torch relay in Fuzhou, capital. [China Daily]

Crowds packed the side of the downtown Yushan Hill facing the May 1 Square in the provincial capital.

Tens of thousands of people had reportedly been waiting on the slope since 5 am to watch the opening ceremony of the relay in Fuzhou, the first city in the province to host the torch relay. The torch came from Shantou of Guangdong province.

"I have never seen so many people getting together and having fun. The Olympics has provided a rare chance for the whole city to be happy together," said Lin Yijun, an office worker who came to the square with three friends.

On Saturday night, more than 1,000 people, mostly youngsters, had also held celebrations on the square until 2 am.

Fujian Governor Huang Xiaojing and Party Secretary Lu Zhangong attended the opening ceremony. "The Olympic torch relay gave Fujian a chance to display its achievements in building the economic zone on the western coast of the Taiwan Straits," the governor said.

Yesterday's relay covered 28.6 km, mainly along the road on the northern side of the Minjiang River. The "mother river" of Fujian starts in the Wuyi Mountain, which lies on the border of Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, running across more than half of Fujian before flowing into the Taiwan Straits.

Zheng Meizhu, a 36-year-old Fuzhou native who played for the Chinese women's volleyball team in its prime from 1979 to 1991, was the first of the 208 torchbearers in the city. She retired as an athlete more than 10 years ago and is now working in Germany.

"I flew back from Germany just for the relay. This morning is the greatest moment in my life. It is a respectable gesture of the nation to remember its retired athletes," she told China Daily.

Zheng passed the torch to Hou Yuzhu, also a retired volleyball player from Fuzhou. The two used to be teammates at the national team, which won a gold medal in the Los Angeles Games in 1984. Hou is now an official at the provincial sports bureau.

Shi Zhiyong, a retired weightlifter who won his Olympic gold medal in Athens four years ago, was the last torchbearer.

Torchbearers also ran through the historic Mawei Harbor in the suburbs of the city. The Naval Battle of Mawei, also known as the Battle of Foochow, on Aug 23, 1884, was fought as part of the Sino-French War (1883-85) and resulted in the destruction of the newly built Fujian Fleet of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The torch will be relayed in Quanzhou and Xiamen today.