Beijing - The largest Paralympic Games in history opened yesterday in the Chinese capital with a colourful ceremony, visually no less spectacular than the Olympics' but more profoundly moving in many ways.

The Olympics opening ceremony on Aug 8 dazzled spectators with dramatic mass displays.

Yesterday evening, it was clearly the Paralympians themselves, as well as the cast of hundreds of multi-talented disabled performers, who stole the show.

Blind singer Yang Haitao sang a haunting ballad, while Li Yue, a 12-year-old ballet student who lost her leg in the May 12 Sichuan earthquake, showed that her disability did not make her any less graceful when she danced.

But the show's highlight - the lighting of the Paralympic flame - was perhaps the evening's most emotional moment.

Hou Bin, a Chinese Paralympics athletics gold medallist, hauled himself and his wheelchair vertically up a rope at least 100m towards the flame at the stadium's roof.

Grimacing from the effort, he moved many to tears with the stunt that was a more poignant version of former gymnast Li Ning's 'flying run' around the stadium during the Olympics' opening gala.

The three-hour show kicked off at 8pm with a volley of fireworks. Sporting delegations representing 148 countries were the first onto the floor at the massive Bird's Nest Stadium.

The 4,000 Paralympians - some on crutches, many on wheelchairs - circled the packed 91,000-seater stadium to loud cheers from an enthusiastic flag-waving crowd.

Countries marched in according to the number of strokes in the first Chinese character of their names. A small delegation from Guinea headed the 1�-hour-long parade of nations, while the 547-member Chinese team, its biggest ever, brought up the rear to roars of 'Go, China!' from spectators.

Team Singapore were 135th in the line-up, led by flag-bearer Theresa Goh, a 21-year-old swimmer with spina bifida. Dressed in navy-blue blazers, swimmer Yip Pin Xiu, 16, and wheelchair racer Eric Ting, 36, were close behind, accompanied by nine officials and coaches.

Singapore's three other Paralympians were not present as their events take place outside Beijing. Equestrian Laurentia Tan, 29, who has profound deafness and cerebral palsy, is competing in Hong Kong. Disabled sailors Jovin Tan, 22, and Desiree Lim, 51, are in Qingdao.

While the Olympics was the platform for China to reinforce its status as a newly-arrived world power, the Paralympics provides an opportunity for the country, often criticised for its human rights record, to be cast in a softer light.

Over the next 11 days, Paralympians will compete at the same iconic venues used for last month's Olympics such as the Bird's Nest Stadium and the Water Cube.

There are 472 gold medals in 20 sports up for grabs. There are high hopes for Team China to repeat their performance at the Athens 2004 Games and take top spot in the medal tally.

tracyq@sph.com.sg