(XINHUA)

Led by flagholder Zhang Lixin, winner of four gold medals in wheelchair races at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, the Chinese sports delegation marches into the Olympic Stadium in London greeted by a sea of cheering spectators at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games on August 29.

China has sent 282 athletes to attend the 11-day competition of 20 sports this year. The ages of the athletes range from 15 to 50, and 134 of them are taking part in the Paralympics for the first time.

The London Paralympics is hosting the highest number of athletes since the official birth of the games in 1960, with 4,280 athletes from 164 countries and regions.