Cheering Chinese stood on chairs and waved flags as the Olympic torch started its mainland leg Sunday on the tropical island of Hainan — the first stop of a scheduled three-month journey to Beijing.

The first torchbearer was former Olympic speedskating gold medalist Yang Yang. Basketball star Yi Jianlian was among the early torchbearers and actor Jackie Chan was one of the day's last. Overall, 208 people carried the torch Sunday along palm tree-lined roads looking out over the South China Sea.

Shenzhen will see the torch May 8. The flame will then travel to all major mainland cities and arrive in Tianjin on August 4 before travelling back to Beijing on August 6, two days before the the 2008 Olympic Games begin.

Before the mainland tour began, the flame landed in Hong Kong on May 2 and Macao on May 3. Thousands of mainland Chinese and Hong Kong residents cheered the Olympic torch through the streets of Hong Kong on Friday, while around 250,000 flag-waving spectators were estimated to have lined the streets in Macao.

(SD-Agencies)