Olympic legacy will be accessibility for all

"I want to use my personal experience as a Paralympian for more than two decades to help people with physical challenges embrace their best selves and enjoy a happier life," she adds.

In recent years, Zhangjiakou has grasped the opportunity of co-hosting the 2022 Paralympics to push forward its development of a barrier-free environment, improve its volunteer services for disabled citizens and encourage disabled people to participate in winter sports, according to the municipal federation of disabled persons.

Zhangjiakou has undertaken the construction of barrier-free facilities to improve access at hotels, hospitals, schools, banks, supermarkets and other public places. Twenty supervision teams, with more than half of the total 155 team members being physically challenged, have been organized to inspect if these barrier-free facilities are accessible enough.

The city has also increased the frequency of selecting athletes with physical challenges for winter sports and increased the subsidies for these athletes and their coaches.

Cheng Wenjing, a Zhangjiakou native, is a physically challenged athlete who specializes in Alpine skiing. Her left arm was damaged in an accident when she was young, yet she still remains passionate about sports.

She was selected to be a professional Alpine skier in 2016 and became the torchbearer who lit up the snowflake-shaped cauldron in the Zhangjiakou competition zone on March 4.

"Alpine skiing has changed me a lot, turning me from an ordinary person to someone who had the glorious moment of being a torchbearer at the Paralympics," she says.