Dogged by anti-Chinese protests from Paris to New Delhi, the Olympic torch relay has triggered an outpouring of nationalism in China, which state media has sought to channel into "rational" expressions.
Pro-China demonstrators have burnt French flags in front of French-owned supermarkets in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, called for boycotts of French goods, and have rallied in Australia, appealing for volunteer guards to protect the flame when it passes through Canberra.
In an increasingly wired society, many, especially the Internet-savvy young, have taken to the Web to express their feelings and demand action.
One popular Chinese online chatroom, Tianya, has called for donations of Chinese flags to support the relay on the remaining legs of its international tour, which includes stops in South Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
"Countrymen, let our five-star red flag fly high and welcome the Olympic torch!", one post proudly proclaimed.
"We Chinese must unite. Let us show those superficial and short-sighted foreigners the style of our spirit!" another said.
After Saturday's protests demanding a boycott of French goods, state media on Sunday quoted university students and professors as calling for people to find more "rational" ways of expressing their patriotism.
The official Xinhua news agency cited Zhang Xingxing, deputy director of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies, as saying that, with China becoming increasingly connected with the rest of the world, it will inevitably face conflicts.
"Whether or not it handles them well affects the country's future development," Xinhua quoted Zhang as saying, adding that, Olympics hosts, Chinese people should show their friendliness in order to win over foreigners.
The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, issued a signed commentary titled, "How can patriotism be more powerful?", calling on people to focus on building up the country's overall strength, which includes dealing with problems in a calm manner.
"Let the world see that today's China is developing itself step-by-step and that there is nothing that can stand in the way of or disturb this," it said on Sunday.
One-sides story
Xinhua said that more protests against Tibetan independence and Western media outlets took place on Sunday in northwestern Xi'an, Shaanxi province, as well as in the northeastern city of Harbin and Jinan, capital of eastern Shandong province.
China has accused exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of masterminding the torch protests, a charge he has denied, and Chinese have taken to the streets to stage their own counter-demonstrations in cities on the relay's route.
China's tightly controlled state media initially largely glossed over the protests overseas, but later showed images of relay participants being assailed by demonstrators.
Reports from the Tibetan government in exile and human rights groups about the situation in Tibet, which saw violent anti-Chinese protests last month, have also not been given a hearing in China.
Yet some Chinese say foreigners are just as guilty at only listening to one side of the story.
"Foreigners keep saying we Chinese are brainwashed by our government, but foreigners are also brainwashed when it comes to Tibet and the Dalai Lama," Zhang Sheng, 51, a retired worker from a state-owned company, said.
"It is unfair to say the Communist Party has no good traits and that the Dalai Lama has no bad traits," Zhang said, buying water at a Beijing branch of French supermarket Carrefour, hit by boycott calls following anti-Chinese protests on the Paris leg of the torch relay.
"I came here because it's cheaper and convenient," Zhang said when asked why he did not heed the boycott calls.
