Liang Wen-chong of China shot a bogey-free 68 in the third round of the Midea China Classic to claim a slender one-shot lead.

Liang's three-under-par round nudged him ahead of Australian Andrew Martin at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Shunde.

With Liang moving to 11 under par overall, Martin kept in touch with a two-under 69 at the third event of the inaugural OneAsia season.

After back-to-back level-par rounds, 2006 champion Zhang Lianwei stormed into contention with a brilliant bogey-free eight-under 63, to join Australian first-round leader Craig Scott, who carded a third-round 68, at eight under for the tournament.

Rising Chinese star Alex Wu Ashun and New Zealander Michael Long moved to six under with 2003 US Open runner-up Stephen Leaney (71) after both carded third rounds of 68 at the Nick Faldo-designed course.

Liang, Asia's number one in 2007, picked up birdies at holes one, nine and 18 to secure a second straight bogey-free round.

"It wasn't a particularly memorable round as I only birdied the par-fives, which isn't good enough," said the Guangdong native, who has only dropped one shot in 54 holes.

"However, it's really good to have three Chinese players near the top as it's great for the gallery supporting us. I believe one of us will win, which would be huge for Chinese golf following the sport's addition to the Olympics."

Martin, the 2004 Australian Amateur champion, also birdied the first before picking up shots at four and eight, but a double bogey followed at the 10th his tee shot found water.

The 25-year-old hit back with birdies at 12 and 13 before dropping a shot on the par-three 15th.

"It felt like matchplay for a bit with Liang," said Martin. "The crowds obviously want Liang to win, so there's more pressure on him, which actually makes it easier for me.

"I really want to win because this would be a breakthrough victory for me and would put me in a really good position on OneAsia for next year."

Zhang turned back the clock as he soared up the leaderboard with a front nine of seven-under 29, sparked by an eagle at the first, but could only pick up one further shot with a birdie at the last.

"Everything went according to plan and I had a terrific front nine," Zhang said. "I started off really well with the eagle, then my confidence grew with each birdie.

"I putted much better today. I didn't putt well on the first two days, so practised till late on Friday to get back the feeling. I only had 11 putts on the front nine and 25 overall."