Torch relay to kick off in Wenzhou Saturday
16/5/2008 17:32
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 torchbearers 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.
The Olympic torch relay will continue its journey in Shaoxin
city Monday, the second leg in Zhejiang province.
Xinhua
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