BEIJING — China is sending 96 athletes to next month's Paralympic Winter Games, its largest ever participation in the event.

This marks China's sixth appearance at the Winter Paralympics. The Chinese delegation includes 68 male and 28 female athletes with an average age of 25.

The oldest Paralympian is 45-year-old Alpine skier Zhang Haiyuan, while the youngest is snowboarder Geng Yanhong at 17. 85 of them will make their Paralympic debut at Beijing 2022.

The Chinese athletes will be competing in 73 events across all six sports, compared with two sports and six events at the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics.

The Beijing Winter Paralympics will be held from March 4 to 13.