BEIJING, April 20: China sought on Sunday to contain an outpouring of nationalism triggered by protests along the route of the Olympic torch relay, with state media urging people to channel their patriotism into “rational” expressions.

However, demonstrations against Western media coverage of the protests along the route of the relay and also the law and order situation in Tibet continued in a number of cities, the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 1,000 students and other people in Xi’an, in northwestern Shaanxi province, held banners in front of an outlet of French supermarket chain Carrefour, criticising anti-Chinese protests during the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay.

“They chanted ‘Support the Olympics’, ‘Go China’ and ‘Condemn CNN’ through loudspeakers,” Xinhua said.

The US broadcaster has come under fire in part for remarks made by one of its commentators, and has become a symbol of Chinese frustration with what they say has been biased coverage by Western media of recent unrest in Tibet. The protests on Sunday extended to the cities of Harbin and Dalian as well as Jinan, capital of Shandong province, Xinhua said.—Reuters