Around 4,400 athletes from a record 168 delegations will participate in the 11-day competition across 22 sports starting from Friday, with Eritrea, Kiribati and Kosovo making their Paralympic debuts.

China's delegation entered with wheelchair fencer Gu Haiyan and weightlifter Qi Yongkai carrying the flag together.

China has sent a delegation of 284 athletes - 126 males and 158 females - to compete across 302 events in 19 sports. Among them, 95 are first-time Paralympians.

48-year-old table tennis player Xiong Guiyan is the eldest athlete in China's delegation, while swimmer Zhu Hui, 15, is the youngest.

Since the Rio Games in 2016, a team of refugees has taken part in both Olympic and Paralympic Games.