Led by amputee swimmer Wang Xiaofu, the Chinese delegation paraded into the opening ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic Games Saturday night.

The 20-year-old Wang, who won three gold medals at the Athens Paralympics, carried the Chinese national flag to a standing ovation from the home crowds at the National Stadium, better known as the Bird's Nest.

The host has fielded its largest-ever Paralympic delegation of 547 members, including 332 athletes who will compete in all 20 sports.

Expectations are high that Chinese athletes will have an impressive showing on home soil.

In its previous six Paralympics outings, China bagged a total of 143 gold medals, 118 silver medals and 84 bronze medals.

With a haul of 63 golds, 46 silvers and 32 bronzes, China topped both the gold medal table and overall medal table in Athen 2004.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2008)