WUZHONG, Ningxia: People of the Hui ethnic group welcomed the Olympic torch Monday, as it passed through this prefecture-level city.

Local residents perform an ethnic dance during the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, June 30, 2008. [Xinhua]

More than half the 1.3 million people living in Wuzhong are Hui, and Jahariyah - a renowned Muslim school - originated here. There are several other influential Muslim schools in the city, dating back many centuries.

The relay started from Wuzhong Middle School, with Huo Qinghua - the owner of a coal and iron mining company - running the first of 193 legs.

The final leg was run by Huang He, general manager of the State-owned Qingtongxia Aluminum Group, who lit the cauldron at Shengyuan Square at the end of the torch's 5.6 km journey.

"It is my honor and also the honor of our company," he said.

One of the landmarks along the route was Siqi Liangzi, a memorial hall and cemetery built in 1915 to remember Ma Hualong, the head of the Jahariyah school, who was killed in 1900 by the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) during an uprising.

The torch also traveled past an 80-year-old castle commissioned by Ma Yuepo, a Hui businessman, as an example of Hui-style Muslim architecture.

The castle, which is surrounded by canals is a cultural heritage site protected by the regional government.

Many of yesterday's spectators gathered at Crescent Square, where one of the largest markets for Muslim food, clothes and other things in Ningxia is held on a weekly basis.

The city is famous for its lamb, dairy products, snacks and tea prepared in the Muslim way.

One spectator was 18-year-old Ma Zhenggui, a student at one of the city's more than 10 Arabic language schools.

"I have never seen so many people here before, even at the weekly fair. I am a football fan, and my friends and I all love the Olympics," he said.