More than 1,000 people began a 140-kilometer hike from Baoding city, in China's Hebei Province, to Beijing on Friday to protest against job losses at a textile company.

The hike started at 8 a.m. from the company, Hebei Baoding Yimian Group Co., Ltd,.

The protesters with luggage headed to Beijing along National Road 107 on foot and by bicycle.

They planned to petition the government over the company's restructuring proposals, said a protester who refused to be named.

The company has about 4,000 employees and many of them joined the march, the protester told Xinhua.

Government officials and police met the crowd on the road at around 11 a.m. to try to persuade them to return home, but the protesters kept walking and the officials were following the crowd.

No conflict had been reported, said a local official.

As of 7:30 p.m., the crowd had walked less than 30 kilometers.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2009)