As the Olympic flame shed light Saturday in Wenzhou city, 108 torchbearers in Wenzhou has donated 475,000 yuan (68,840 U.S.dollars) for quake victims of a deadly earthquake in southwest China.

The opening ceremony in Wenzhou relay observed a minute of silence to the victims of the strong quake measuring 7.8-magnitude which struck Wenchuan at 2:28 p.m. on Monday. Death toll from the quake climbed to 22,069 by 2:00 p.m on May 16, according to official statistics.

An estimated crowd of 200,000 people gathered along the torch route in Wenzhou city.

Wenzhou, the first stop in Zhejiang, is renowned for its rapid economic growth especially in the private sector.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2008)