The flame of the 17th Games of Zhejiang Province is ignited in the Shangshan Archaeological Site Park in Pujiangcounty, Jinhua on Sept 21. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

The flame of the 17th Games of Zhejiang Province was lit in the Shangshan Archaeological Site Park in Pujiang county, Jinhua on Sept 21.

The fire was lit by Gong Luying, an athlete from Jinhua, the Games' host city.

Gong won the gold medal in the women's long jump competition at the 15th Games of Zhejiang Province in 2014. In May 2017, she won gold in the women's long jump at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships. Gong also won the World Junior Athletics Championships in Nairobi later that year.

The first torchbearer in the relay following the lighting of the flame was Wang Congkang, another athlete from Jinhua and the first Olympian in Pujiang county. In August 2010, Wang made it to Group A final of the men's 1000m kayak double at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

A total of 363 torchbearers will take part in the relay, which has seven stops in Lanxi, Yiwu, Dongyang, Pan'an, Yongkang, Wuyi and Jinhua's urban area.

The Games of Zhejiang Province is the largest sporting event in the province and is held every four years.

This year, about 15,000 athletes from across Zhejiang are participating in the event. This year's competition, which features 910 disciplines from 34 sports, will have 1,076 gold medals up for grabs.

Wang Congkang, the first torchbearer of the 17th Games of Zhejiang Province. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]