China – August/September 2017

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…

As one implied, this afternoon was about visiting Beijings famous landmarks including The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The city has made strides in terms of accessibility as a result of the 2008 Paralympic Games and this is clearly visible at the entrance of The Forbidden City…

A short walk across the road from The Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. The area is pretty easy to roll around for wheelchair users, that is once one has navigated through the traffic…

It is worth noting for wheelchair users who wish to explore outside this area that one can’t guarantee that all of the citys underpasses are accessible. It may be a ramp leading down to said underpass, however, the other side consisted of steps. One would therefore recommend that you get on the right side early enough before you head out of town!

Tomorrow, one plans to visit the famous Olympic Park using the Beijing Subway Network.

One would have started this post by saying Hello in Chinese, however, this iPad doesn’t have the Chinese alphabet thus Hello from Beijing will have to do!

After a 9 hour ‘red eye’ flight, we touched down at Beijing Capital International Airport. One was amazed to see the speed at which the baggage handlers brought up the manual wheelchair to the plane door, around 10 minutes!

Its worth mentioning that Superbunny has stayed in the UK on this occasion as Chinese officials are a little wary of electric wheelchairs as a result of a recent incident. It is hoped that one will be able to roll around China in Superbunny in the future.

During our time in Beijing, one is staying at The Peninsula Hotel. It has to be said that this hotel can only be classed as luxury in ones opinion…

Here are some photos of what greeted one in an ‘accessible’ room.

As accessible rooms go, it is one of the best that we have stayed in thus far. Just look at that shower chair. The room itself is controlled by touch screens where one is able to turn the lights on and off in addition to opening and closing the curtains!

The plan for this afternoon is to explore the Forbidden Palace, Tiananmen Square and Downtown. As usual, one did a little of prior research and noted that, as a result of the 2008 Paralympic Games, the access of the city has dramatically improved thus it will be interesting to see to what extent.