Beijing Paralympic torch relay begins ahead of Friday’s games opening

BEIJING. KAZINFORM - The Paralympic torch relay started in China on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in Beijing, and with no public spectators around due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kyodo reports.

The torch relay events are under way in only the three competition zones -- Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou -- as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as was the case for the Olympic Games torch relay.

The flames were lit in eight locations, including a school for visually impaired people in Beijing, and the Heritage Flame lit in Stoke Mandeville, England, regarded as the Paralympic Movement's birthplace. The different flames were then united at the Temple of Heaven in the Chinese capital.

«We believe the Paralympic flame will further bring (mutual) understanding, respect and empathy to the world,» said Cai Qi, president of the Beijing 2022 organizing committee, at an event officially marking the start of the torch relay.

The flame lighting ceremony was also conducted in the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China, a popular tourist spot north of Beijing, although public entrance was restricted.

According to organizers, the relay will travel Thursday inside Beijing's «closed-loop management system,» which encompasses Winter Games venues and separates people involved with the games from the general public.