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.

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.