Chinese Paralympic gold medalist Zhou Xia is the first torchbearer for Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games torch relay departing from the China Disabled Sports Management Center in Beijing's Shunyi district on Friday. Photo: Zhang Hui/GT

The three-day torch relay for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games entered the last day on Friday, and more than 500 torchbearers passed the flame in three competition zones in Beijing and Zhangjiakou. The flame, collected in nine places, is scheduled to be put on display at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Winter Games on Friday night. 

On Friday morning, the torch relay continued at the Chinese Disabled Sports Management Center in Beijing's Shunyi district, where athletes train and fulfill their sports dreams. 

The first torchbearer Zhou Xia, who set a world record to claim gold in the women's 100m T35 thriller at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, said that she felt honored to be the first torchbearer and the flame she passed was the flame for sports and care for people with disabilities. 

She said she often trained at the center ahead of competitions, and the perfect facilities enabled her to achieve her best scores. 

The Chinese Disabled Sports Management Center, established in 2003, has the world's largest training camp for people with disabilities. It includes an apartment building, scientific research office building, goalball hall, track and field hall, and ice sports training hall.

As an important window to show China's progress in sports for the disabled, the center has hosted many international sports events for people with disabilities. At the end of 2020, China's only national ice sports training hall for the disabled was put into use at the center, covering sports of wheelchair curling and para ice hockey for the Beijing Paralympic Winter Games.

Many torchbearers expressed their deep gratitude to the country which has done a lot to improve their lives and provide opportunities for them to fulfill their dreams and win glory for the country. 

Among them, Wei Jingyang, a leading dancer for the China Disabled People's Performing Arts Troupe who lost her hearing when she was only 1 year old, told the Global Times through a translator that she wished her dance team's performance will reach more people across the world so that more people will learn Chinese culture through their performance. 

Wei performed at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, and will perform at the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Winter Games on Friday night. Describing how she felt participating in the Beijing Paralympics again after 14 years, Wei said that she was thrilled and deeply moved by China's achievements in protecting and improving the welfare of people with disabilities over the past years, which made all disabled people more determined to fulfill their own life goals.

"Over the past 14 years, my biggest feeling was that the country paid a growing attention to disabled people. I could feel that the country cares for each disabled person when I was chosen to perform for disabled people in different organizations and villages in China," she said.  

The government's care us also shown in its efforts in developing more accessible facilities, whether it's in barrier-free facilities or information and technology that offers convenience for communication, she said. 

While in poverty alleviation and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, China is also making sure that not a single person with disabilities will be left behind, Wei said. 

On Friday, the torch relay was also continued at Beijing Disabled Persons' Culture and Sports Guidance Center and the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee headquarter before the torch is used to light the Beijing Paralympic Cauldron at the opening ceremony on Friday night. 

The Beijing 2022 Paralympic torch relay started on Wednesday with 565 torchbearers participating in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou competition zones. Among them, people with disabilities accounted for 21 percent, higher than International Paralympic Committee's requirement of 15 percent.