Paralympic Heritage Flame lit in Stoke Mandeville

Torch bearers Aileen Neilson (R) and Angie Malone, wheelchair curlers, hold their torches during the Paralympic Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Feb. 28, 2022. The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

STOKE MANDEVILLE, England, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games.

Stoke Mandeville witnessed German-born British neurologist Ludwig Guttmann organize an archery competition joined by 16 patients on wheelchair at a hospital on the day when the 1948 London Olympic Games opened.

The Beijing Winter Paralympics opens on March 4 and closes on March 13. 

A torch bearer lights the caldron during the Paralympic Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Feb. 28, 2022. The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Torch bearers Angie Malone (R) and Aileen Neilson, wheelchair curlers, approach the caldron with their torches in the rain during the Paralympic Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Feb. 28, 2022. The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Torch bearers Aileen Neilson (R) and Angie Malone, wheelchair curlers, hold their torches during the Paralympic Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Feb. 28, 2022. The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Lighted caldron is seen during the Paralympic Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Feb. 28, 2022. The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

Torch bearers Aileen Neilson (R) and Angie Malone, wheelchair curlers, hold their torches during the Paralympic Heritage Flame Lighting Ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Stoke Mandeville, Britain, Feb. 28, 2022. The Paralympic Heritage Flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games was lit on Monday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is recognized as the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. (Xinhua/Li Ying)