One may think the Olympics returned to Beijing again seeing the spectators in the shooting range hall, had he or she not seen the emblem of the Paralympics painted on the wall.

Sunday, the first competition day of the Beijing Paralympics, saw two gold medals on offer. Audience stands were occupied before qualification round of the first event, the women's 10-meter air rifle standing, started at 9 a.m. in the morning.

Holding a telescope, Shi Xuejing attentively followed up the rankings of shooters, although no Chinese entered the final of the women's 10-meter air rifle standing.

"The fact that they could come here already made them heroes," she said, "it is their participation, rather than the gold medals, that made the competition fascinating."

Shang Yuliang in a wheelchair is a doctor from a clinic in the Quyang county of neighboring Hebei Province, some 220 kilometers away from Beijing.

"Compared with the Olympic athletes, those on the Para...

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