Deaf-mute flame collector Jiang Xintian (right) hands the flame to Jin Jing (center) at the ancient Temple of Heaven in Beijing yesterday. Jin Jing was the Olympic torch bearer who protected the flame from protestors in Paris.—Xinhua

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lit the Beijing Paralympic flame at the ancient Temple of Heaven in Beijing yesterday, kicking off the torch relay across China before the 13th Paralympics opens next Saturday.

In front of the symbolic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, deaf-mute flame collector Jiang Xintian lit the flame out of a concave, burnished mirror.

The flame was then handed to Jin Jing, the wheelchaired fencer and Olympic torch bearer known for protecting the torch from protestors in the Paris leg of the relay, before it lit a torch held by Liu Qi, president of the organizing committee of the just concluded Beijing Olympic Games.

Liu passed the torch to Wen Jiabao, who lit a cauldron and announced the beginning of the 9-day torch relay.

The sacred flame will be sent to Xi'an City in the northwestern Shaanxi Province , and Shenzhen City in the southern Guangdong Province, where the relay will be launched today and tomorrow respectively.

"The flame will symbolize over the next ten days the unique sporting spirit displayed by Paralympic athletes," said Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, at the flame lighting ceremony.

The Temple of Heaven, a gateway between the earth and the sky in Chinese traditional concept, was the perfect location to light the flame for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, he said.

A total of 850 torch bearers will participate in the relays along two routes through 11 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The "Ancient China" route will pass some cities of historic and cultural significance, including Xi'an, Hohhot, Changsha and Nanjing. The "Modern China" route, running through Shenzhen, Wuhan, Shanghai, Qingdao and Dalian, will showcase the country's recent achievements.