Braille guidebooks for city's tourist spots

Beijing's first tourist guide books for the blind and visually impaired were unveiled in Beijing Tuesday.

The guide, featuring Prince Gong Palace, Xicheng district, will help deepen their sense of space, distance and perspective of the tourist attraction.

"The 100 Braille guide books are kept at the Palace and when people with a visual disability visit, our volunteers will give them a book," said Zheng Xiaojie, secretary of Beijing Hongdandan Education Culture Exchange Center, a non-government organization in charge of producing the books.

Zheng came up with the idea of making the special guide books for Beijing's scenic spots when she visited Tokyo Disneyland in Japan.

Zheng asked Tetsuji Tanaka, curator of the Japan Braille Library, a private library in Tokyo, to aid her in producing a similar book for the blind in China.

"We gave her our ideas and experience in offering suitable services to the visually impaired, as well as certain technological support," said Tanaka, who was at the Palace today for the book launch. Tanaka said that he had previously visited China in 2006, and found that reading and audio books for the blind "were not well-prepared."

"Ordinary maps make no sense to blind people," said Zhao Jing, an assistant at the Palace's cultural department.

"But the Braille can enable them to feel the overall layout, the locations of different buildings, even the shapes of the temples," Zhao said.

Yesterday afternoon, four visually impaired residents became the first group of tourists to enjoy the special guide books.

"I think it's an amazing book, from which I, for the first time, learned about the different shapes of the windows in a temple," said Xiao Huanyi, one of the four visitors, adding, "The apple, fan and peach-shaped windows!"

"And I can feel the intersections, buildings, paths, and obstacles in the Palace, which makes me believe that I'm able to navigate the site, and decide where I want to explore on my own," he said.

According to Zhao, the cost to produce one book is 1,300 yuan ($206).

"I initially encountered these guide books at an exhibition at the China Millennium Monument in Fengtai district, where the Braille guide books for the Louvre were on display," Zhao said.

"After that, we decided to cooperate with Hongdandan to make our own Braille guide books," she said.

"Right now, we're making efforts to persuade other scenic spots in Beijing, including the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, to adopt this idea," said Zheng.