Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It's an extremely rare thing to see anyone getting around in a wheelchair unless they're eld-
erly or are dressed in pajamas and being rolled around hospital grounds; seeing people with
amputations or neuromuscular disorders within the community is even rarer. When you do
see someone with a visible disability, it's almost always a beggar who is using their disfig-
urement as a promotional tool to boost donations.
If you do happen to have an obvious disability, be warned that people will stop and stare
shamelessly at you. And if you do need assistance to get anywhere, such as into a restaurant
or down onto a subway platform, it no doubt will turn into a public spectacle with sever-
al staff kindly but perhaps overenthusiastically offering complete orchestration of the situ-
ation, together with a large crowd of onlookers. Unfortunately, the Paralympics came and
went in 2008 with few long-term improvements to society as far as disabled access is con-
cerned. Lifts and ramps that were installed were soon removed. The occasional stairlift still
exists, but don't feel that you can rely on them being there or that they will be functioning.
Subways do actually have assigned carriages for wheelchairs, but in many cases the cars
are so jammed with people that you must convince a number of people to get off the train
so that you can get on. If you are able to stand, then you most likely will have to because
there won't be a seat. Generally, buses don't have wheelchair options, and it can be hard to
identify where to wait for the ones that do. For taxis, it can be hard to get a driver to stop
and pick you up if you have a visible walking aid, especially if your chair or frame is col-
lapsible and can easily fit in the trunk. On the other hand, there are a few barrier-free taxis
(again, diminishing leftovers of the Olympic Games). Sightings of these are rare, and it's
essential to book them. To do so, have a Chinese-speaker call the Beijing taxi center (tel.
96106) between 8am and 10am at least one day in advance.
Ramps at gutters are reasonably ubiquitous, but not all buildings have ramps at their
entrances, and it's quite possible that a car will be parked in front of them anyway. Addi-
tionally, even if you or your loved one is not restricted to a wheelchair, subway stations
are often several flights of stairs below ground, and escalators are most commonly only for
coming up, not going down. In some cases, subway staff have been seen physically carry-
ing a person down the stairs. Elevators are almost nonexistent at places of public transport.
Similarly, in many older apartment buildings there may be no elevators at all or perhaps
ones that operate during the day only. When nature calls, you're likely to also run into some
frustrations. Accessible toilets are not extremely common, and those that do exist are often
locked and/or double as storage rooms. Additionally, managing Beijing's typically small
cubicles and squat toilets may be tricky.
