Torch festival for the disabled

WUHAN: Disabled people enjoyed an unprecedented gala as the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games torch passed through the capital of Hubei province Sunday.

More than 2,400 of Wuhan's 438,000 physically challenged people cheered the torch on its relay and enjoyed the accompanying performances.

Local authorities said it was the largest get-together for the disabled in the city.

"The torch relay is real festival for us and I feel extremely happy," one of the disabled spectators said, waving the national and Paralympic flags.

Zhu Gang (left), who is visually impaired, runs as a torchbearer with the help of a volunteer in Changsha, Hunan province August 31 2008. [Xinhua]

Sixty torchbearers, including 11 disabled persons, took part in the 3-km relay.

Wen Qing, the final torch bearer, said: "I hope disabled athletes (from Hubei) carry forward the (Paralympics) spirit and go all out to achieve good results in Beijing."

Wen, dubbed the "wheelchair princess", has won more than 50 wheelchair race medals at home and abroad over the past 15 years.

Seven Hubei athletes will take part in swimming, table tennis and track events in the Paralympics that starts on Sept 6.

The Wuhan city government has intensified its efforts to help the disabled. For example, it has created more than 10,000 jobs for the physically challenged over the past five years.

The Paralympic torch relay will cover 13,181 km in nine days and pass through 11 cities. It passed through Changsha, capital of Hunan province, along the "Ancient China" route Sunday.

The relay has two routes - "Modern China" and "Ancient China".

The "Modern China" route covers Shenzhen, Wuhan, Shanghai, Qingdao and Dalian. The "Ancient China" route includes Xi'an, Hohhot, Changsha, Nanjing and Luoyang.

Wuhan has a population of 8 million and is the economic and communications hub of central China. The local government has decided to raise the city's GDP from last year's 314 billion yuan to 1 trillion yuan in the next seven to eight years.