China – August/September 2017

If one is planning to visit China especially with a wheelchair, I would recommend getting a guide purely to act as a translator unless you can speak fluent Chinese!

Despite people’s preconception of China, it has been one of the best countrys that I have visited in terms of how accommodating people, are especially to people with disabilities, for example that guy in Xi’an who held up the restaurant menus for me whilst I read it and our guide in Beijing, China has almost no system set up to help disabled people, however, it is clear that, as a society, they are very much trying to become an inclusive country, even if one has to hunt around for ages to find a ramp!

The plan for today was to take a ride on the Shanghai Maglev which connects the city to Shanghai Pudong International Airport in under 8 minutes! In order to do this, one was required to go on the Shanghai Metro. Unlike Beijing, there is a website that tells you which stations are accessible and which are not making life easier. The Maglev line is situated within an interchange of several Metro lines, however as Line 2 was closest to our hotel, that was the easiest for us. Due to the newish rolling stock on Line 2, the train allows for level boarding for wheelchair users.

One soon arrived at the magnificent Maglev station and were escorted through the staff offices to the lift which enabled us to access the platform. After marvelling at the architecture of the station, it was time to board…..

It is worth noting that there is a little step up to the door and one couldn’t see a wheelchair space, however, it maybe possible to sit by the door. One of the highlights of the ride was passing Shanghai Disneyland which only opened in 2016! If you desire to take a round trip, you are required to get off the train at the airport for the staff to check your ticket upstairs before returning back down for the return trip.

As temperatures rose to around 34C, we decided to head back to the hotel via The Bund to cool off and pack ready for the 12 and a half hour flight back to Heathrow tomorrow.

After being shown how to eat Shanghai steamed dumplings, difficult with chopsticks, a spoon and no fork, we headed to Yu Garden, a mock up of an old Chinese village with an array of shops surrounding it. Most of the shops were accessible however, as with most places one has visited in China, one has to go hunting for the ramp access. As the Gardens are very old and have been preserved, it is inaccessible to wheelchairs users (unless you want to bump up and down steps)…

Tomorrow is ones last full day in China during which we attempt to navigate the Shanghai Metro in order to reach the maglev which travels at 431km/h and covers the 30 km to Shanghai Pudong International Airport in under 8 minutes.

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.