Asian Para Games torch relay begins

The torch relay for the 4th Asian Para Games set off on Thursday in Chun'an county of host city Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

State Councilor Shen Yiqin lit the torch from a cauldron at the launch ceremony near picturesque Qiandao Lake, and announced the commencement of the relay.

"This moment signifies the start of a joyful sporting spectacle that people here in Chun'an county, and more widely the whole of Zhejiang, China and indeed Asia, will enjoy," Tarek Souei, chief executive officer of the Asian Paralympic Committee, said at the ceremony.

The flame will travel some 235 kilometers through Chun'an county, Jiande city, Tonglu county, Fuyang district and Xiaoshan district, each for half a day, before heading to the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium on Oct 22, where the main cauldron will be lit at the opening ceremony.

The Hangzhou Para Games will help encourage more people with disabilities to venture out of their homes, integrate into local community life and partake in sports, said Cheng Kai, chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation.

"The torch relay will fully showcase their spirit of self-respect, self-confidence, self-improvement and self-reliance," said Cheng.

A total of 600 torchbearers — 228 females and 372 males — will participate in the relay, including 51 torchbearers from abroad representing 41 countries and regions, said the Hangzhou Asian Para Games Organizing Committee, with the youngest being 14 years old and the oldest 73. Among them, 188 of the torchbearers are persons with disabilities.

Throughout the journey, accessibility ramps, restrooms and signs have been meticulously designed and installed, according to Du Zuofeng, an official with the Para Games' torch relay command center.

While digital technology was a particular highlight of the torch relay during the Asian Games, the Para Games torch relay will see the introduction of new and innovative ideas, said Du, such as smart prosthetic hands and legs, and robotic guide dogs.

"It feels the same as a real guide dog," marveled Cai Qionghui, the 13th torchbearer for the Chun'an leg, who was led by a robot dog.

At 75.6 centimeters long and weighing 1.16 kilograms, the torch is named "Gui Guan" or "Laurels". Its design was inspired by jade cong, a ritual ware from the 5,000-year-old Liangzhu civilization, and osmanthus, Hangzhou's city flower.