One thing is clear here in China, I hope to never be on crutches or in a wheelchair. Between uneven sidewalks, extremely high curbs (8-12″), and needing to dodge cars speeding around corners when they have red lights and you have the right of way … It would be a miracle if you’d survive!
I’ve come to realize that escalators, elevators, and people movers aren’t designed to help those in need or to speed up one’s ability to move from point A to point B. Local Chinese tend to stand on contraptions and are shocked if you try and walk past them. The idea of expending energy to move one’s self when a mechanical device could do it for you seems to be the norm.
And then there’s the busses. No kneeling ability to make it easier to step up onto one. No ability to extend a ramp for helping someone in a wheelchair get on. And if someone in a wheelchair did get onto the bus, most of the time there’s not even a spot for that person to sit or secure their wheelchair!
My most favorite example of the lack in help for those who cannot navigate stairs came from Shanghai the other weekend. Pictures below is an escalator found near a very busy intersection. There’s a raised walkway above the intersection where one could safely circle around to any corner at a speed reasonable for their conditions. But not if that person is bound to a wheelchair. Why? There are stairs leading up to the escalator!
Yup, that makes sense and completely renders a situation moot. Ah, China. I guess that’s why it’s called the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) and not the CDA!