BEIJING -- The Paralympic cauldron for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games has been lit at the National Stadium.

Li Duan, Paralympic long jump and triple jump champion at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, placed the torch in the middle of a giant snowflake-shaped cauldron which later ascended to the top of the stadium, after the torch was relayed among eight Paralympic athletes inside the stadium during the Games opening ceremony.

The Paralympic flames collected in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, and eight other locations in Beijing and Zhangjiakou gathered to form the official flame for the 2022 Winter Paralympics at a ceremony held at the Temple of Heaven on Wednesday.

Over the past three days, 565 torchbearers have participated in the torch relay in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou competition zones.

The 2022 Winter Paralympics takes place between March 4 and 13.