BEIJING - People in a number of Chinese cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jinan, Qingdao and Taiyuan, took to the street Sunday to voice their opposition to Japanese activists' landing on the Diaoyu Islands.

Around 8:50 am, over 100 protestors gathered near the Consulate-General of Japan in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, holding Chinese national flags and banners reading, "Defend China's territory over the Diaoyu Islands."

They also shouted, "Japan, get out of the Diaoyu Islands!"

From 9:40 am, protestors marched on major roads in Guangzhou as police maintained order.

The protestors returned to the Consulate-General of Japan in Guangzhou around 10:30 am, and some Guangzhou residents staged a sit-in at the gate of the compound.

In downtown Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, protestors gathered at SEG Plaza around 9:00 am, holding Chinese national flags and shouting about defending China's territory.

From 10:30 am, protestors marched on major roads in the city's downtown area.

As of 11:00 am, about 1,000 protestors had assembled in Shenzhen.

In Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, hundreds of residents gathered at Dragon Tower Square, a city landmark.

The protestors had organized online, and some local residents arrived at the scene to support the protestors by offering them Chinese national flags and drinking water, according to the protestors.

The protestors were led along the city's major roads by two cars flying Chinese national flags. Police maintained order and directed traffic, as the group gained more protestors throughout the march.

In the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, about 100 protestors gathered at a square near the Shenyang municipal government building and marched to the Consulate-General of Japan in Shenyang.

Some of the protestors wore red dresses bearing the Chinese characters for "China" and held loudspeakers. Police were on hand to maintain order.

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, several hundred protestors gathered near Wulin Square in the city's central business district Sunday morning, with pictures of the Diaoyu Islands printed on banners.

At around 9:30 am, they began to march, shouting "Return the Diaoyu Islands to us!" More people, mostly students and the elderly, joined the protestors during the march.

In Jinan, Shandong Province, more than 2,000 protestors marched toward Donghuan Plaza as they sang China's national anthem and held banners and national flags.

The protestors in Jinan also used the demonstration to speak out against Japan's two-day detainment of Chinese nationals who arrived at the Diaoyu Islands on Wednesday to assert China's sovereignty over the islands, said a university student protestor.

At 10:00 am, over 1,000 protestors in the coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong Province, marched toward the Consulate-General of Japan in Qingdao.

"Get out of the Diaoyu Islands!" they shouted. "Defend China's sovereignty over the islands!"

Same protestors were also seen in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, where more than 1,000 people marched on Yingze Street, one of the city's main streets.

The protestors moved in an orderly manner, with police directing traffic.

The Japan Coast Guard confirmed that nine Japanese activists landed on the Diaoyu Islands early Sunday morning, Japanese media reported.