Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs
W
www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca.
Irish Department of Foreign Affairs
Travellers with
disabilities
In China the disabled are generally hidden
away, so attitudes are not very sympathetic
and little special provision is made. As it
undergoes an economic boom, Shanghai
resembles a building site, with uneven,
obstacle-strewn paving, intense crowds and
vehicle traffic, and few access ramps.
Commendably, a huge effort has been made
to make pavements and subway stations
friendly to the blind.
Wheelchair users will generally find public
transport inaccessible, though a few of the
upmarket hotels have experience in assisting
disabled visitors; in particular, Shanghai's
several Holiday Inns (
T
63538008) and
Hiltons (
W
www
.foreignaffairs.gov.ie.
New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs
W
www.mft.govt.nz.
South African Department of Foreign Affairs
W
www.dfa.gov.za.
US State Department
W
www.travel.state.gov.
Other useful websites
Shanghai Guide
www.shanghaiguide.com. Not
really a guide, but a mishmash of reviews and
observations with the occasional gem, and a lively
forum.
Shanghaiist
W
www.shanghaiist.com. A scatty
forum with lots of quirky local gossip; entertaining and
informative.
Sinomania
W
W
62480000) have rooms designed
for wheelchair users.
Given the situation, it may be worth consid-
ering an organized tour. Make sure you take
spares of any specialist clothing or equipment,
extra supplies of drugs (carried with you if you
fly), and a prescription including the generic
name - in English and Chinese characters - in
case of emergency. If there's an association
representing people with your disability,
contact them early on in the planning process.
The official representative of the disabled in
Shanghai is the Disabled Person's Federation
at 189 Longyang Lu (
T
58733212,
W
www
.shdisabled.gov.cn).
T
www.sinomania.com. A California-
based site with links to current Chinese news stories
and a good popular music section, with MP3s
available.
Smartshanghai
www.smartshanghai.com. The
definitive nightlife site, with plenty of restaurant
reviews too; up to date, with events listings, bitchy
user reviews, maps to show where venues are (a rare
plus) and a personals section.
Yesasia
W
www.
yesasia.com. Online shopping
for Chinese movies, CDs, books, collectables and
so on.
Zhongwen.com
W
W
www.zhongwen.com. A
dictionary site useful for students of Chinese and
anyone struggling to communicate in Chinese.
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