Buildings and other venues frequented by the public, including supermarkets, banks and cinemas, will have to construct wheelchair-accessible ramps on their premises within five years when Guangzhou enacts a regulation on handicapped facilities, reports Nanfang Daily.

The Regulation of Obstacle-Free Constructions in Guangzhou now under review is expected to be passed within the year, according to an official with the Guangzhou Association of the Disabled.

While there are currently about 3,000 wheelchair ramps in the city, some 80 per cent of banks have no ramps. Access to cinemas, museums and restaurants is even worse, said the official.

And throughout Guangzhou, only 25 pedestrian crossings have been equipped with voice-prompts for the blind.

Close