Zhejiang Celebrates Eighth National Game for the Disabled

The 8th National Games of Disabled Persons of People’s Republic of China opened extravagantly on October 11， 2011 at the Dragon Stadium in Hangzhou， the capital of eastern China’s coastal Zhejiang Province.

It was the first time Zhejiang hosted such a large national sporting event since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Prior to the ceremony was a 1-hour-long warm-up performance. More than 1，000 people in 25 teams staged 19 intangible cultural heritage shows. The most thrilling of the warm-up attractions was dragon dance of various kinds. The province boasts some original dragon dances inscribed on the national list of intangible cultural heritages. These dragon dance teams include 100-Leafs Dragon， Cloth Dragon， and Bench Dragon. Some teams have staged performances in foreign countries. Also in the performances were “18 Butterflies” from Yongkang， “Steady Benches” from Lishui， “Flower Lanterns” from Haining， “Fish Lanterns” from Qingtian， and “Dragon Lanterns” from Yuhuan.

The opening ceremony， which included the rituals and a gala show， lasted about 2 hours. Altogether 6，300 performs of 14 teams staged the show. The gala was divided in four sections: “Great Tides of Qiantang River，” “Rain of the West Lake，” “Dream of Colorful Butterflies，” and “Light of Life.”

One thousand and twelve students from Zhejiang Business Vocational College， Zhejiang Medical College and Zhejiang TCM College participated in the performance of the 10-minute-long “Rain of the West Lake.” They trained for two months learning how to dance with silk umbrellas， a symbol of the West Lake for centuries. Thousands of students from Zhejiang Police Academy， Shaoxing Arts School and Tagou Martial Arts School staged “Dream of Colorful Butterflies.”

At the end of the show， four torchbearers entered the stadium through separate gates. After six more relays inside the stadium， the ceremonial cauldron was ignited by Paralympic javelin champion Sun Changting. The original fire for the national para-Games was lit on June 30， 2011 on “Red Boat” on the South Lake in Jiaxing in northern Zhejiang province. The Communist Party of China held part of the first congress on the boat in July 1921. The torch relay toured Zhejiang before it came back to Hangzhou. The flame symbolized renovation， bloom， beauty， serenity， and vigor.

The gala show was directed by Xing Shimiao and produced by Zhu Hai and He Jiqing. Xing Shimiao and Zhu Hai are natives of Zhejiang. A galaxy of celebrities participated in the gala.

The warm-up performances and the gala show were full of Zhejiang elements. “Zhejiang Passion” was part of the theme of the opening ceremony. The emblem of the games portrays an athlete traveling fast in a wheelchair as well as the tidal waves of the Qiantang River and the number 8. The mascot of the games is based on sweet osmanthus， the city flower of Hangzhou， showing the regional feature and culture of Hangzhou as the host city. “Great Tides of Qiantang River” started the performance with a spectacular LED show imitating the world-famous great tides of the Qiantang River.

The national para-Games attracted more than 5，000 athletes from 35 delegations including Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions. The Games features 18 sports mainly in Hangzhou and three neighboring cities. The competitions of archery， basketball for the deaf， cycling， rowing， wheelchair fencing and football 7-a-side ended in June and July this year.

The Chinese National Games of Disabled was inaugurated in 1984 in Anhui Province in downstream Yangtze River in China. Since 1992， it has been taking place every four years.