A young Chinese woman has turned her home into barrier-free accommodation for tourists in wheelchairs, making travel easier for people with disabilities.
Cui Yameng, a 20-something woman, runs a homestay out of the first floor of her home in Qingdao, a popular seaside tourism destination in east China's Shandong Province. What makes her homestay special are the barrier-free facilities she designed by herself, and the accommodation offered to handicapped tourists free of charge.
Her first floor has a ramp at the doorway, a lower kitchen counter, and a specially designed sink with wider access for wheelchairs.
Cui recently welcomed a tenant, Zhou Zhizhu, whom she befriended before. Zhou, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy, had wanted to see the ocean, and finally traveled to Qingdao.
"It's better here than what I expected. The amenities are even better than those in my home," Zhou said.
Cui said the reason she opened the homestay had a lot to do with her grandmother, who had to use a wheelchair because of her diabetes before passing away.
"The reason I started doing this was because of my grandmother who was basically stuck in the old seven-storey, elevator-free building where she lived for the last two to three years of her life. If chance had permitted for us to install barrier-free and universally accessible facilities, she could have been able to move downstairs and enjoy more freedom during the twilight years of her life," Cui said.
Cui's homestay attract media attention and before long, other homestay runners came to her for experience, expressing interest in incorporating barrier-free facilities in their homestays.
"We have been operating for many years and are running many homestays. We want to select one of them for barrier-free design, because a homestay, unlike a hotel, should be a place for people to feel at home," said Lu Junhan, another homestay runner in Qingdao.
Cui said she expects more people to join in the efforts to help wheelchair users travel more freely.
"I hope to make a difference in other people's lives through what I do," Cui said.
Chinese woman turns own home into barrier-free accommodation for tourists in wheelchairs
