The Olympic torch relay will kick off in Wenzhou city on Saturday, the first leg in southeast China's Zhejiang Province.

The 11.66-kilometer Wenzhou relay, expected to last about four hours, will start from the city's sports center and end at the Century Square.

Among the 109 torch bearers is Zhan Xugang, a Wenzhou native who won two gold medals of weightlifting in Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Wenzhou, birthplace of China's private economy, now has a total of 240,000 individually-owned commercial and industrial undertakings and 130,000 private enterprises.

The development of private economy in Wenzhou has created the "Wenzhou Economic Model" that gives great inspiration to the modernization drive in China.

In the early days of China's reform and opening up, Wenzhou people took the lead and for now nearly 600,000 Wenzhounese engage in business worldwide.

"Where there is a market, there are Wenzhounese or vice versa," said a local entrepreneur, adding the Wenzhou people have been long known for their pioneering spirit and business savvy.

Wenzhou, named "Capital of Shoes", boasts over 5,000 manufacturers of shoes and leather products. It is also world's biggest production bases of cigarette lighters and optical glasses.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)