Sidewalks all over China have about a 1-2 foot section where the brick or concrete has been replaced with this, for lack of a better term, bumpy strip. I have wondered off and on for years what it's for. It doesn't seem to matter how wide or narrow the sidewalk is, which city I'm in, this strip is almost always there. When the sidewalk is really narrow it is the sidewalk. I was especially confused when in Suzhou, the sidwalk didn't have it and they then proceeded to tear up the bricks and install it. After a trip to Shenzhen I noticed they had painted a pedestrian on one side and a bike on the other, so I assumed it must be a dividing line, but that never seemed quite right, espcially since sometimes the strip runs down the middle of the sidewalk and others is all the way to the side. How are you supposed to walk or ride on the three inches left on the other side?
After 2 years of living in China I have finally discovered it's for blind people. It is to let blind people know where to go. The amount of thought and money that has been put into the care and help for blind people to navigate the city, know where curbs are, lead them to a counter to buy metro tickets and know when to stop is astounding!!! I am impressed. I am also incredibly confused.
1. Why are blind people so special??
2. As with most things in China, this idea has only been half-way thought through.
3. Why just this form of help? You see brail ocassionally, but traffic lights don't make that beeping noise so the person can know when to cross.
4. What about all the other handicap people in China?
If you're in a wheelchair you don't get special help navigating the system like say, an elevator or a handicap stall. Shanghai is in the process of building this beautiful and very extensive metro system. There are many stations where you cannot get up or down to the platform if you are in a wheel chair, because there is no elevator or it is broken. My favorite was Jinshajia Metro station. If you are in a wheelchair it is impossible to get from the above ground line 3/4 to the below ground line 11 unless you get out and walk down the stairs or your friends carry you like a king (which I saw happen twice in one year.) Occassionally you'll find a bathroom with a handicap stall. My favourite sign in China might be this one, technically correct:
At this point you must be thinking with 1.5billion people we must see a lot of blind people. We've seen a few blind beggars (a person maimed so they can beg, ala that scene in Slumdog Millionaire where the little boy gets acid thrown in his eyes to make him blind. If you come to China don't give money to these people, it just propagates the system.) But a non-beggar blind person...Once, maybe!!
So where are all these blind people that the government has so generously catered for?
