SHANGHAI (AFP) — The Olympic torch reached China's financial hub of Shanghai on Friday but celebrations were muted as the city paid tribute to the victims of last's week's devastating earthquake.
The flame-lighting ceremony held in downtown Shanghai began with a minute of silence for the more than 80,000 people who were killed or left missing in the quake that flattened entire towns in mountainous Sichuan province.
In a brief speech to welcome the torch, Shanghai city mayor Han Zheng said the hearts of the city's 19 million residents went out to those affected by the quake.
"When torchbearers pass the flame, it's not just the Olympic spirit they are passing, but also the confidence and courage with which the people of Shanghai join hands with the victims of the quake to rebuild their beautiful homelands," Han said.
Zhuang Yong, a swimming gold medallist in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, then took the torch as huge but orderly crowds -- many decked out in Olympic regalia -- lined the streets waving Chinese flags.
"We are here to support China," said Ren Fufu, a retiree attending the opening ceremony, before the torch moved to the city's historic riverside Bund amid cheering crowds and very heavy security.
"This is a very important occasion. The torch must continue its journey because its shows our solidarity with the earthquake victims and the Beijing Olympics are a world event," she said.
Although the crowds cheered as the torch began its two-day journey of 200 kilometres (124 miles) through Shanghai, fireworks shows and Olympic parties have been cancelled in deference to the victims of the quake.
Among the 416 selected torchbearers in Shanghai were four locals who had been working in the quake disaster area. Donation boxes for quake sufferers were also set up along the route.
Dubbed in Chinese the "Journey of Harmony" the torch resumed its run in the eastern port city of Ningbo on Thursday, after it was suspended as part of a three-day quake mourning period that banned all public entertainment.
Olympic organisers have also altered the route of the flame so it will pass through Sichuan province from August 3 to 5, making it the last stop before coming to Beijing for the Games.
The torch relay is the most ambitious in Olympic history and included a one-month world tour in April that was anything but harmonious.
It was repeatedly disrupted by groups trying to highlight grievances against China's communist rulers including China's rule of remote Tibet.
Pro-Tibet activists demonstrated in London, Paris and San Francisco to protest against China's crackdown on unrest in the Himalayan region, which broke out in mid-March and spread to neighbouring Tibetan regions.
The flame returned to China earlier this month for a three-month national journey that was just over a week old when the earthquake hit.
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