China's first national therapeutic massage exam for blind people was held on Oct 17. Although there have been qualification exams for blind massagers, they are for healthcare purposes, not therapeutic.
According to the Supervision Center, passing the exam would allow blind massagers who were only allowed to practice healthcare massage to operate therapeutic massage clinics. Candidates must at least have specialized secondary education in therapeutic exam or have worked as a therapeutic massager at a clinical institute for more than two years.
According to China's Disabled Persons' Federation, two thousand and seven hundred blind massagers have registered to take the exam on Oct 16 and 17, and Beijing alone has about 144 candidates.
The exam is divided into two parts: writing and practice. The writing exam will be on three types of exam papers: two kinds of Braille and an enlarged Chinese version. The practical session include clinical interviews and actual practice.
Video: Sun Peng
Script and voiceover: Feng Xin
Related video: Touching is believing