Chinese national flag hoisted at PyeongChang Paralympic Village

   PYEONGCHANG, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese delegation held its flag-raising ceremony at the PyecongChang Paralympic Village on Thursday, one day before the 2018 Winter Paralympic Games opens here.

   More than 50 athletes and officials from Team China attended the ceremony, which was presided over by Park Eun-soo, the mayor of the Paralympic Village.

   Welcoming the athletes, Park said the ceremony set a tone that would be continued throughout the PyeongChang Paralympics.

   "Hope all of you will enjoy the festival, and during your stay in PyeongChang, you will make many friends and have a beautiful memory," Park said.

   The traditional exchange of gifts took place after the flag-raising ceremony, with Wang Meimei, vice chef de mission of the Chinese delegation exchanged gifts with Park.

   "An important task for our delegation in PyeongChang is to gain some experience for the Beijing Winter Paralympic Games, hope we can make a breakthrough to win a medal in 2022," said Wang.

   After the flag-raising ceremony, the PyeongChang Paralympics organizers arranged a performance featuring a mixture of Korean traditional dance and modern hip-hop.

   The flags of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Uzbekistan were also raised in the same ceremony with China.

   The Chinese athletes will compete in 30 medal events in five different sports at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games.

   The PyeongChang Paralympic Village has eight 11-story buildings, which amounts to 372 units with 2,332 beds during the 10-day Paralympic Games, as there are 1,500 people from 49 countries and regions registered to participate in the first Winter Paralympics in South Korea.  Enditem