Beijing is aimed at turning
into a barrier-free city when the Paralympic Games are held here in 2008,
Beijing organizers said here on Tuesday, one day before the two-year countdown
to the opening of the Paralympics.
Beijing is taking a number of methods to regenerate the Chinese capital in a
bid to make it barrier-free for the disabled people, said Zhang Qiuping,
Paralympic Games department head of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the
29th Olympic Games.
"For the public transportation such as subway, the government is working on
non-barrier facilities," he said.
According to Zhang, subway stations under construction will be build with
non-barrier facilities while newly-built ones will be reconstructed partly. As
for the old stations, he said, the government is studying how to add non-barrier
facilities to them.
For the Paralympics athletes, the organizers will offer them bus service
catering to disabled persons.
"During the Games, the disabled athletes will ride on buses with wheelchair
access," said Tang Xiaoquan, vice president of the Beijing Olympics organizing
committee.
"The audience can take public transportation to whichever stadium they want
to go," she added
