A scene at the flame lighting ceremony

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao lit the Beijing Paralympic flame at the ancient Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Thursday, kicking off the torch relay across China before the 13th Paralympics open on Sept. 6.

In front of the symbolic Hall of Annual Prayer, deaf-mute flamecollector Jiang Xintian lit the flame out of a concave, burnished mirror. The flame was then handed to a wheelchair-ridden girl, 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 Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who lit a cauldron and announced the beginning of the 10-day torch relay.

The sacred flame will be sent to Xi'an in northwest China and Shenzhen in the south, where the relay will be launched on Friday and Saturday respectively.

Speakers at the lighting ceremony included Deng Pufang, chairman of the China Disabled Persons Federation, and President of the International Paralympic Committee Philip Craven.

Dancers perform at the ceremony