Chinese nationwide on Monday expressed their pride and joy online, after the reception of the Olympic flame in Beijing and the launch ceremony of the torch relay.
"Beautiful weather," said a visitor to the torch relay homepage on the country's largest portal, Sina.com.
"Good luck, Beijing. Good luck, China. Good luck to all Chinese," wrote the Hangzhou, Zhejiang province resident.
Many were also captivated by Olympic hero Liu Xiang's performance yesterday morning.
"He really has style," said a visitor from Wuxi in Jiangsu province. "That's how a world champion should look like."
Another visitor from Shanghai said the ceremony reminded her of the Athens torch relay during its Beijing leg four years ago.
"I just got enrolled as a post-graduate student," she said. "I was very excited and I followed the flame at five different places in Beijing: Tian'anmen Square, the Olympic Center, the Universidad Village, Peking University and finally the Summer Palace."
The excitement was not confined to the Chinese mainland.
"As a Hong Kong compatriot, I'm really looking forward to attending the opening ceremony in August," said Sifu, a visitor to China Daily's website.