Zimbabwe's team to the 2008 Paralympic Games arrived in China at the weekend and immediately settled down at the Games Village on the northern part of the city ahead of the start of the sports showcase.

The five-member team arrived on Saturday night (10pm Beijing time) 4pm in Zimbabwe after a 20-hour trip with stopovers in Zambia and Singapore.

Within three hours they had been ferried from the Beijing International Airport and taken to the Games Village where their accreditation was validated.

They were given accommodation temporarily just for that night pending a move to another block of apartments.

It was too late into the night and Africa Co-ordinator Francis Lu Yu with the assistance of a young team of volunteers made the Zimbabweans feel at home and gave them the temporary shelter.

The team was yesterday moved to their proper residence, which is the same as the one used by the successful Zimbabwe Olympic Games team that returned home last week with a medal haul of one gold and three silver.