Jiang Aibing, the last torchbearer, salutes to a statue featuring late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong during the torch relay in Mao's hometown Xiangtan, Central China's Hunan Province, June 5, 2008. [Xinhua]

"It's a great honor for me to carry the first torch here in the hometown of the great Chinese leader," said Yang.

The last one was a firefighter named Jiang Aibing, who was in a rescue squad sent to the quake-hit region.

"It's a huge honor for me to become a torchbearer. I hope I can also become a bridge connecting the Olympic spirit and the quake region," said 30-year-old Jiang.

"I hope to pass the Olympic spirit and Olympic dream to the quake survivors. I hope they can get more and more adamant in the reconstruction.

"Although I ran only 100m with the Olympic torch, but it's a brilliant part of my life."

Mao Zedong's nephew Mao Anping ran in the 198th place.

Shaoshan is a county-level city in Xiangtan, Hunan Province. It is best known as the birthplace of Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China.

Shaoshan is also the birthplace of Mao's Family Restaurant, a popular restaurant chain that has spread to many other cities.

Peng Dehuai, born on October 24, 1898, was another renowned figure born in Xiangtan. He was a prominent military leader.

After the Hunan relay, the Olympic flame is flying to the summer resort of Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.