The opening ceremony of the 10th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 7th National Special Olympics Games in Tianjin on Aug 25. [Photo by Liu Xin/for chinadaily.com.cn]

A record high of 3,481 disabled athletes will compete in the city and the first gold medal will be up for grab in the swimming pool on Monday.

"The twin sports gala mark several No 1s in the history of disabled persons' sports gala and the special Olympics in China," said Zhang Guoqing, mayor of Tianjin, during the opening ceremony.

Tianjin becomes the first Chinese city to have staged triple national-level sports galas including the National Sports Games in 2017 and the ongoing two events.