Sixth Tone
19th September 2024
Can China Promote More Accessible Public Spaces?
By Cao Shuyun
A handful of entrepreneurs are opening clubs and founding workshops designed around inclusivity for disabled Chinese.
It was a sweltering August evening, but business was brisk at HandyCup, a pub located on Shanghai’s historic Xinhua Road. As customers trickled in, some ordered craft beers and looked for a seat, while others simply rolled their wheelchairs up to the bar.
HandyCup is Shanghai’s first “accessible pub.” Although China passed new accessibility regulations for public facilities last September, accessible “third spaces” — places outside the home or workplace — remain few in number. Even high-profile experiments like Shanghai’s Hinichijou Café, which employs deaf baristas, still largely play into stereotypes of the Deaf community as service workers rather than fully rounded individuals.
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