Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics mascot Shuey Rhon Rhon Photo: cnsphoto

China is sending 96 athletes to next month's Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, its largest ever participation in the event. This marks the sixth time for China to participate in the Winter Paralympics, which will be held between March 4 and 13.

The Chinese delegation is made up of a total of 217 members including 96 athletes, 68 male and 28 female athletes, as well as 121 staffers such as coaches and medical security staffers.  

Zhang Haidi, chairwoman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, was appointed as the head of the delegation. 

The average age of the athletes is 25 - the youngest is 17 and the oldest 45. Among them, 85 will participate in the Winter Paralympics for the first time, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total number of athletes. 

The Chinese athletes will compete in 73 different events across six sports including wheelchair curling, para ice hockey, Alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing and biathlon, compared with two sports and six events at the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics.

The Chinese delegation will compete in the Beijing Paralympics with the largest scale and the most athletes to participate in the most complete events since China started to participate in the Winter Paralympic Games. 

With a late start in Winter Paralympics, the Chinese delegation aims to show the world the spirit of disabled Chinese people in the new era and to display the development achievements of China's Winter Paralympic Games. 

Global Times