The Olympic torch relay kicks off in Hangzhou on Sunday, the third leg in east China's Zhejiang Province.

The 15.63-kilometer Hangzhou relay, a planned four-hour tour around the West Lake, starts from the city's Great Hall of the People and will end at the Dragon Sports Center.

The first runner Li Lingwei, a former badminton star who had won 38 world championships, shows the torch to the crowds.

Among the 208 torchbearers is former badminton star Li Lingwei, who owns 38 medals including 13 world titles.

Hangzhou, capital of the eastern Zhejiang Province, one of the Chinese economic powerhouses, has enjoyed a double-digit GDP growth for 16 successive years.

Pei Shaojun (left) takes over the Olympic torch flame to contimue the relay in Hangzhou city on Sunday, May 18, 2008.

Marco Polo, Venetian traveler and author who traveled to China six hundred years ago, praised in his journals the beauty of the West Lake and the palatial residence alongside its shores.

The Hong Kong-listed Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce website, locates its headquarter in Hangzhou and runs online commerce sites that link foreign buyers with Chinese wholesalers.

The Olympic torch relay will continue its journey in Ningbo and Jiaxing Monday, last two legs in Zhejiang Province.

Shao Linbo runs in the torch relay in Hangzhou city on Sunday, May 18, 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency/CRI May 18, 2008)