The first leg of the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay in Jiangxi Province ended in Ruijin amid public donations for relief efforts to victims of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked Sichuan Province two days ago.

Torchbearer Fu Chunrong lit the flame cauldron.

The four-hour relay by 208 torchbearers covered a length of 15km and finished at Ruijin Museum at 11:30 a.m. before passing through Yeping, Ruijin municipal government, the site of "Red Well," and the site of the People's Congress of the Soviet Republic of China (1931-1937).

Jiangxi Provincial Government donates five million yuan to earthquake victims in Sichuan Province.

Praising the torch relay in the Chinese revolutionary cradle, which dates back to over 70 years ago, Mayor of Ganzhou City Wang Ping said the activity ignited the Olympic passion among the locals who will make further efforts to improve their living conditions.

BOCOG torch relay operation team makes donation.

On behalf of BOCOG, Liu Baojie, vice director of the BOCOG Torch Relay Center, expressed appreciation to the governments of Jiangxi Province, Ganzhou and Ruijin for their support of the torch relay. He said Ruijin is a city where the fire of revolution in China was ignited. That fire as well as the Olympic flame can encourage the Chinese people to brave difficulties and move forward. With the Olympics only 86 days away, BOCOG is well prepared to stage quality Olympics.

According to incomplete statistics, donations from the Ruijin leg have totaled over eight million yuan, including five million yuan from the government of Jiangxi Province, two million yuan from the government of Ganzhou City, and the rest from the government of Ruijin and the Beijing Olympic torch relay operation team.

Ruijin residents make donations.

At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the Beijing Olympic torch relay operation team will travel to the next leg -- Jinggangshan City by highway and arrive at round 10 p.m. the same day.

(BOCOG May 14, 2008)