Grace, simplicity and the beauty of life in a surreal scene of space and time.

Last night's Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Paralympic Games bundled the entire universe into a single family and presented it to the world.

A Chinese artist performs at the National Stadium during the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games in the Chinese capital on September 6, 2008. China once again dazzled the world with a glittering ceremony as the Paralympics opened in the iconic "Bird's Nest" National Stadium with the message that all life has value and dignity. [Agencies]

In a stunning performance, directors movingly portrayed respect for all life in a romantic manner to usher in the Beijing 2008 Paralympics.

"If we describe the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games as a scroll or drawing, the Paralympic opening is of a univeral family," said Zhang Jigang, executive director of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony.

"We told the whole story as a fairy tale and I believe it is the first time that such a grand ceremony has been performed in a romantic way as a fairy tale.

"We open a door, light a lamp and brighten a road for everyone to transcend space and time and pursue more brilliant dreams."

Led by Zhang Jigang and Zhang Yimou, head director of all four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, a 100-strong creative team worked for more than a year on performance.

Nearly 5,000 people took part in the performances, among them more than 400 with a disability.

"When we discussed the program for the ceremony more than a year ago for the first time, we decided to portray human beings and show our respect in a romantic way," Zhang Yimou recalled.

"It had to be different from the Olympic Opening Ceremony, which was powerful and magnificent, but focused on personalities. We talked to all life in the universe and displayed it in a fairy tale setting."

Last night's program vividly conveyed such a concept.

The performance, entitled Flying with the Dream, tried to create an atmosphere of "dream, grace, warmth and happiness," interpret the idea that "all life has value, all life has dignity, all life has a dream" as well as promote harmony among "sky, earth and human beings".

The show, comprised of three chapters -- Journey of Space, Journey of Time and Journey of Life, had a sensational start when blind singer Yang Haitao sang in soft voice and told a sunbird, a symbol of light and warmth, about his utmost wish: "If I could see for only three days, the people I want to see most are my Mom, my Dad and all of you."

During his dialogue with the sunbird, the singer spoke about his belief that "there are dreams in life" and spoke about the good wishes in his heart to look for, discover and feel the truth of life from the mysterious vast oceans, land and sky.

Hello, Stars added to the show another warm and moving touch when, underneath the star-studded sky, a trumpeter quietly played the music of Hello, Stars and more than 300 deaf girls, dressed in white gowns, communicated their inner feelings to the stars with sign language.

In the second chapter Journey of Time, Li Yue, an 11-year-old girl who used to study ballet but lost her left leg in the devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province, might have reignited painful memories of the quake.

But Li, on the central stage of the stadium, was a symbol of those in the quake-stricken province who never gave up their dream. The girl performed her never-ending dance in wheelchair with her hands, bringing tears to eyes of many spectators (See Page 16).

The ending chapter Journey of Life struck an optimistic tone when a blind pianist played against the backdrop of picturesque changing seasons, featured by peach and lotus flowers, and golden wheat field.

With 750 pairs of nimble hands, 750 performers displayed a spectacular scene of a group of flying petrels, swans and birds above the blue sea surface, echoing the theme "fly with the dream".

Xinhua contributed to the story