JINGGANGSHAN, Jiangxi: Many of the 208 torchbearers in this East China city are getting ready to join the rescue effort in Sichuan province.

Local residents hold up a banner that reads, "Spread the Olympic Spirit and Support Earthquake-relief Efforts" while watching the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Jinggangshan, East China's Jiangxi Province, May 15, 2008. [Xinhua]

The opening ceremony of Thursday's relay was low key with the poignant recitation of a poem written by the late Chairman Mao Zedong in Jinggangshan in 1928, when the revolution reached its critical point.

In the poem, Chairman Mao calls on the revolutionary forces to "join together to make it happen".

The poem was cited both as a tribute to the city's history as the cradle of the Chinese revolution and as a call for public support and involvement in the rescue efforts in the disaster-hit areas of Sichuan.

Local residents hold up a banner that reads, "Supporing Quake-hit Areas = Supporting the Olympic Games" while watching the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Jinggangshan, East China's Jiangxi Province, May 15, 2008. [Xinhua]

The torch relay started with Zhou Hechun, an athletics coach, at 8:15 am from the historical site of Huangyangjie, a 1,343-m hill and home to a tablet inscribed with one of Chairman Mao's most famous quotes: "A single spark can start a prairie fire."

Liu Hao, a model firefighter, ran the final leg through a square in the city's new downtown area.

The flame passed by the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Museum - home to relics associated with Chairman Mao during his sojourn there - and the martyrs' cemetery.

Many of the torchbearers expressed deep concern for the victims of the quake.

Among them were Jiang Yiman, vice-president of the Red Cross Society of China.

The charity organization has so far collected 320 million yuan ($45.7 million) for disaster relief, he said.