Photo story: visually impaired girl plays Beijing 2022 theme song Snowflake

Ma Yifei plays the piano during a music class in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, May 16, 2018.

For Ma Yifei, a 16-year-old visually impaired girl, the violin piece of the Beijing 2022 theme song, Snowflake, that she played in the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, is her best gift for Paralympians across the globe.

Ma, a sophomore in Ningxia Special Education High School in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, lost her eyesight at the age of two through illness. With the hope that music would serve as an extra way to reach out to the world, she started to learn to play the piano at five and violin at nine.

"It took a few thousand times for her to play a piece correctly as she always played the wrong notes because she could not see the keyboard." said Ma's mother.

"Sadness or joy, each piece is different," Ma said, adding that although Snowflake is related to winter, she can feel "warmth, hope and light." (Photo by Li Jing/Xinhua)

Ma Yifei plays games with friends in Ningxia Special Education School in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, May 21, 2013.(Photo by Li Jing/Xinhua)

Ma Yifei plays the piano during a music class in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, May 16, 2018. (Photo by Li Jing/Xinhua)

Ma Yifei reads a braille book during a class in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, May 21, 2013.(Photo by Li Jing/Xinhua)

Ma Yifei (dressed in pink) plays the violin during the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, March 13, 2022.(Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

Ma Yifei plays the Beijing 2022 theme song, Snowflake, on her violin at home in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, March 14, 2022.(Photo by Li Jing/Xinhua)