The sun shone quite literally on the Paralympics yesterday morning, as its rays were harnessed to ignite the Games' torch at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Dressed in a white robe with a "lucky cloud" design, anchor woman Jiang Xintian, who has been deaf since birth, got things under way, holding the torch to a large convex lens used to focus the powerful rays.

She then used her flame to ignite an urn held by Paralympian fencer Jin Jing, who lost her right leg to a malignant tumor at the age of 18 and is now confined to a wheelchair. Jin in turn held the urn up to Liu Qi, president of BOCOG, the Games' organizers, who lit a second torch.

This was then passed to guest of honor Premier Wen Jiabao who lit the cauldron to mark the start of the torch's journey across China.

Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, said at the ceremony: "The flame will symbolize over the next 10 days the unique sporting spirit displayed by Paralympic athletes.

"This spirit can overcome many obstacles in the search for sporting excellence."

The relay will be run over two separate routes: Ancient China and Modern China.

The Ancient relay begins today in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, while the Modern route starts on Saturday from Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

As well as Xi'an, the Ancient route, which is designed to showcase China's rich culture and heritage, will take in Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and Luoyang. After leaving Shenzhen, the Modern route, which will highlight the country's economic achievements, will visit Wuhan, Shanghai, Qingdao and Dalian.

In total, the two-pronged relay will visit 11 cities, including Beijing, and involve 850 torchbearers.

The torch will arrive back in the capital on Sept 5, and after a tour of the city, will head to the Bird's Nest for the official start of the Games on Sept 6.

Liu said yesterday: "We will do all we can to ensure the Beijing Paralympics is a high-quality event, and we are ready to serve the thousands of athletes, coaches and guests from around the world."

The Temple of Heaven was chosen as the venue for yesterday's torch lighting ceremony because of its ancient representation of the relationship held between people, the Earth and the heavens.

Source: China Daily