Spectators cheer during the Olympic torch relay in Changchun, Jilin province on July 14, 2008. [Xinhua]

Located about 500 km from Changbai Mountain, birthplace of the ethnic group of Man, Changchun was started as a guarding place for the sacred mountain soon after the Man people founded the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911).

The city is home to the Changchun Film Studio, the first one set up after the founding of People's Republic of China. On the same latitude as Detroit, Changchun is also known as China's Motown.

On July 13, 1956, a truck branded with Jiefang (liberation), the first automobile entirely made by Chinese, was produced in the city.

Currently a base for one of China's major automobile producers - FAW Group Corp - Changchun has at least 1 million of its 7.6-million population working directly or indirectly for the auto industry.

FAW employees such as Xu Jianyi, the company's general manager, and Wang Hongjun, the first worker-winner of the National Award for Advancements in Science and Technology, were among the list of torchbearers.