ecns
2nd May 2020
Int'l Guide Dog Day: More support needed for visually impaired
April 29 marks the International Guide Dog Day, which honors the importance of guide dogs in the lives of visually impaired people as it helps them navigate the world safely and independently.
China's first guide dog training base was established in Dalian City, northeast China's Liaoning Province in 2006. The training base is a public welfare institution, and all the guide dogs trained here will be given to visually impaired people for free.
According to Liang Jia, a trainer from the base, China has less than 200 guide dogs. However, the number of visually impaired people in the country is around 17 million. Every year, tens of thousands of people apply for a guide dog and have to wait for a very long time to get one.
Guide dogs are trained strictly to help visually impaired people find locations, avoid obstacles, and use public transport.