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Today, one headed across the city to the Shanghai Tower (which is the tallest in China and second tallest in the world as of 2017)…

As one arrived at the tower, we were guided through the rear entrance as there are escalators down to the main entrance. This involved going the wrong way through security just to come back on ourselves!

It is said that the elevator up to the observation deck is the fastest in the world reaching a top speed of 18 meters/sec (40 mph), pretty quick! Once at the top, one can marvel at the Shanghai skyline including the Bund…

The observation deck is accessible however there are steps at one end of the circle so you have to come back to the ramp…

After dropping ones bags off at the hotel in Shanghai, we took the short walk down to The Bund which runs alongside the Huangpu River overlooking the iconic skyline…

The area is also fully wheelchair accessible with several ramps to access the waterfront plus drop curbs located in appropriate places…

One strange thing encountered with that the area seems to be a hotspot for wedding photos, even posing in the middle of the road!

The plan for tomorrow is to head up the Shanghai Tower (which is the second tallest building in the world as of 2017) followed by a trip to the theatre to see a traditional Chinese Acrobatics Show.

Today, one was able to experience an domestic Chinese Airport as we caught the 2 hour internal flight from Xi’An to Shanghai. One of the main things to note is that, as airports such as Xi’An only deals with a handful of international tourists, English isn’t as widely spoken at check in hence its useful to have a translator. The process was simple enough to get one and the manual wheelchair onto the plane, very similar to Bristol airport (ones home airport) in that wheelchair users are required to visit the duty supervisor (special assistance). After this, staff take you in an airport wheelchair down to the gate and onto the plane whilst your own wheelchair is placed in oversized baggage.

From this experience plus at Beijing Capital International Airport, it seems that Chinese airports are quite efficient compared to other countries. One only had to wait 5 minutes for an airport wheelchair to take me down to baggage reclaim.

After a quick visit to a Terracotta Warrior factory and craft centre, with level access, one headed out to the Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum in Lintang where the original Terracotta Warriors are located. It is worth noting that the ‘accessible’ routes around the site are a little confusing and even if one follows the wheelchair signs, you still may encounter steps. The are three pits within which the Terracotta Warriors were discovered with pit 1 being the largest with 6000 Warriors…

It appears that wheelchair users can only access the top viewing platform as there are steps down to the sides. However, pits 2 and 3 are completely wheelchair accessible as is the Chariot Museum

N.B. Make sure you press the right floor in the museum lift as everything is on -1 rather than 2 as initially thought.

As of 2017, pit 3 is yet to be excavated.

Tomorrow, we travel to Xi’An International Airport to catch a 2 hour internal flight to our final destination of Shanghai.

Before heading to visit the Terracotta Warriors, one took a trip to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda which is one of the most famous landmarks in Xi’An. It is worth noting that this requires some prior planning unless you are fluent in Mandarin otherwise one could end up going round in circles!

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda stands 7 storeys high and has a lean to it but not as much as Pisa! As one rolls around the monastery, it is possible to visit Buddha and the various other buildings and halls. At the entrance, it is possible for staff to open a gate making it much easier for a wheelchair user to enter.

At first, it was decided to bounce the wheelchair up the steps at the base of the Pagoda, however, one soon realised that there is, in fact a ramp hiding on the right side of the Pagoda, near the cemetery, to take you up to the majestic site.

Travelling through Xi’An, one took a look at the general accessibility, it’s interesting because many of the local shops had level access yet some of the major chain stores were not. Although one didn’t catch the subway in Xi’An, research suggests that only some of the subway stations are accessible and the rolling stock allows for level boarding.

It was an early start as one headed to Beijing West train station to catch the Bullet Train to Xi’an. On entrance to the station, one is required to go through security showing your passport and ticket but other than that it was a rather simple process. Wheelchair users are required to visit the ‘station master desk’ around 30 minutes before departure for in order for the staff to take you down to the platform. The train itself is almost level to the platform making it easy to board…

As one was booked in first class, I didn’t get chance to see if there was a wheelchair space, however, it would be possible to simply sit by the door if not…

After arriving at arrived at Xi’an North station, one was transferred to the hotel which is located within the walled Downtown district.

One must say about dinner before finishing this post. We were met by Henry, a management trainee, who seemed to know exactly how to interact with a disabled individual, for example, holding the menu in front of me while one read it. It’s interesting for one to see that, whilst the government may not support families with disabled children well, society seems to be very welcoming.

Tomorrow we head to the Big Wild Goose pagoda followed by the Terracotta Warriors

After visiting The Great Wall of China, one headed back to Beijing to experience Temple of Heaven…

Accessibility wise, it is clear that efforts have been made to improve access across the site…

However, some modifications are a little questionable including this one leading to the Temple…

Albeit quite scary, one managed to reach the top presenting an insight into The Temple of Heaven, it’s intricate external artwork of dragons and Phoenix’ together with the lavish interior…

Tomorrow we catch the famous Chinese Bullet Train to Xian to visit The Terracotta Warriors.

Today, we headed outside the city of Beijing and travelled to Badaling where a section of The Great Wall of China is located before stretching a further 7800km. One chose to scale the wall at Badaling as there is also a section that is wheelchair accessible. However, before exploring this, we decided that in order to get an authentic feel, one would bounce backwards up the steps…

After this point, the gradient becomes quite steep hence we decided to retreat back down and find the accessible route which located on the opposite side of the road to the ticket office. There are two ways of reaching the wheelchair accessible part of The Great Wall, one can either roll up the ramp or take one of two lifts. However, it is worth noting that a wheelchair user needs to let them know in advance if they wish to use the lifts. As a result, one went up the ramped access…

The ramp enables one to access a reasonably flat fortification with good views of the Wall and surrounding countryside. It is also possible to enter one of the Great Wall’s accommodation towers, however there is a little step up to that…

As one exited the Beijing Subway Network, the sight of the Beijing Olympic Tower (which is 246.8 metres) greeted us. However, the first aim was to roll to the iconic Birds Nest Stadium and Water Cube. As one would expect from a modern Olympic Park, the majority of the park is wheelchair accessible, especially the central ‘boulevard’…

The famous Birds Nest Stadium is located just off the ‘boulevard’…

Before hopping back onto the Subway Network, one couldn’t resist a visit to the Beijing Olympic Tower. The tower costs around £20 per person. For this, one can visit several observation decks (all accessible) including a glass floor….

Tomorrow, we head outside Beijing to visit the world famous Great Wall of China.

As one mentioned yesterday, the plan for today was to head across Beijing to the Olympic Park which is home to structures including the Birds Nest and Water Cube constructed for the 2008 Games. However, one first had to navigate the Beijing Subway Network which is amongst the longest in the world.

As per usual, one did some prior research finding out what stations are accessible only to discover that it isn’t possible to download any form of accessibility map! As a result, one had to resort to watching YouTube videos in addition to zooming in 500% on images.

Luckily for one, the line that we wanted to go on (Line 8) to visit the Olympic Park is completely accessible. However, it is worth noting that the lift at Nanluogu Xiang station (which is the terminus) is located down the side passage.

Line 8 consists of modern rolling stock meaning that level boarding is possible…

Once inside, a designated wheelchair space is present with a seatbelt that allows the user to secure a mobility device during transit if appropriate…