Hong Kong aside, China makes few provisions for disabled people.
With the country undergoing an economic boom, many cities resemble
building sites at present, with uneven, obstacle-strewn paving,
intense crowds and vehicle traffic, and few access ramps. Public
transport is also generally inaccessible to wheelchair users, and
hotels are unused to dealing with foreigners, let alone those with
disabilities.
For all these reasons, it may be worth considering an
organized tour - the contacts in the box opposite will be
able to help you arrange this or assist you in researching your own
trip. If you want to be more independent, it's important to become
an authority on where you must be self-reliant and where you may
expect help, especially regarding transport and accommodation. 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.
Once there, you'll find that Hong Kong is about the only
place in China with transport, recreation and other services geared
to disabled travellers, all detailed in the Hong Kong Tourist
Association's excellent free booklet , Hong Kong Access
Guide for Disabled Visitors. Macau , too, has some
facilities, though they're more limited, but mainland China
is far harder to negotiate, especially for those with restricted
mobility. Some airlines, as well as a few of the upmarket hotels in
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and even Ürümqi have experience in
assisting disabled visitors; in particular, the Holiday Inn
and Hilton chains often have rooms designed for wheelchair
users.
There are two excellent US-originated Web sites for
disabled travellers. Access Able Travel (
www.access-able.com) offers a bulletin board for passing on
tips and accounts of accessible attractions, accommodation, guides
and resources around the globe. Disability Travel (
www.disabiltytravel.com) deals exclusively in arranging all
aspects of travel for the mobility-impaired, and almost always has
forthcoming tours to major sights in China.