The Beijing Paralympic Flame was lit at the Temple of Heaven in southern Beijing on Aug. 28th, kicking off the 13th Paralympic games torch relay across China. Jiang Xintian, the person who lit the falme, was a 24 year-old deaf-mute girl. Her experiences mirror perfectly the slogan of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games - "transcendence, integration and equality". Now let's share her inspiring story with our reporter Wu Jia.

As a sign language master of ceremonies for the Beijing based "China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe" and a representative of eighty-three million Chinese disabled people, deaf-mute woman Jiang Xintian lit the Paralympic Flame on August 28th at the Temple of Heaven.

At that moment, another person was perhaps even more excited then Jiang Xintian. Her mother Zhao Lin, a primary school teacher in east China's Qingdao city, who couldn't hide her pride…

"When I saw the flame lit, I couldn't help but shout out: "Well done, daughter". Then tears ran down my cheeks."

Zhao Lin recalls the life changing event which happened to her daughter when she was just 12 months old. Due to an overdose of antibiotics for a high fever, the little girl acquired a drug induced deafness, a lifelong affliction. Zhao Lin was devastated by the news and was extremely depressed.

However as Jiang Xintian grew up she appeared to become more self-confident and independent.

"One day when she was just 2 years old, she went out alone and bought two ice-creams for me and herself. I was so surprised when she came back with my purse and ice-creams in her hands. She was imitating the adults and socializing with others."

From that moment on, Zhao Lin began to give her daughter more chances to socialize with people.

Through her mother's hard work and dedication, Jiang Xintian grew up confident and self-reliant. She was an excellent student and was consistently seen as healthy, studious, and helpful.

She also possesses great enthusiasm and has participated in all kinds of activities organized by the "Disabled Persons' Federation" in Qingdao.

In 2003, the 19-year-old girl did something that was beyond her mother's expectations by participating in a Miss Global Contest and taking 6th place. She also caught the attention of the media and won "the best news medium prize" and another "special prize of honor".

Jiang Xintian had long wanted to become a member of the "China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe". Luckily after her success in the Miss Global Contest, she was invited and enrolled as a sign language MC for the troupe. Her first overseas tour to South Korea soon followed and she won high acclaim. Since then she has been abroad more than ten times each year. Needless to say, her mother is very proud.

"She has traveled a lot overseas. She has taken part in the Miss Global Contest, attended the CCTV Spring Festival Gala show and performed at the Closing Ceremony of the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. She has been received by the Chinese president and heads of state from other countries."

However, Jiang Xintian herself is not complacent. Now a computer science student in Beijing Union University, she talks about her dreams for the future through a sign language interpreter.

"I hope I will be able to assist disabled people after I graduate."

In fact, she has already done a great deal for the disabled by participating in Paralympic activities and being a role model for many. Being involved with the Beijing Paralympics flame lighting has already displayed to the world, and in particular to disabled people, her confidence and optimism.

Being the initial lighter of the paralympic flame is not a simple task for someone who has hearing disabilities. She had to act out three movements with her arms, namely offering a sacrifice to heaven, paying homage to the earth and embracing the sunshine. The problem is she had to perform these actions to the accompanying music. So she had to memorize the time and rhythms of her actions. After 10 days of practice, and with help from her sign language interpreter, the process was perfected. Here's her interpreter again.

"Since the day I knew I had been chosen for the ceremony, I'd been trying to find the feeling of the ceremony. Because I'm deaf, I have to feel everything with my heart."

This time, she succeeded again. Her graceful moves accurately represented the attributes required, both as a Paralympic representative and a disabled person.

Jiang Xintian is also good at sports. She is outstanding as a long distance runner and good at track and field events. She jogs and swims a lot. Here's her interpreter again.

"Life is not a bed of roses. We disabled people are not unfortunate; but we are inconvenienced and sometimes discriminated against. Like everyone else, we have our dreams and work hard to fulfill our goals. I hope that everyone can still relate to us, even after the Paralympic Games."