To begin with the conclusion: when it comes to supporting people with disabilities, China may simultaneously be one of the best—and one of the most lacking—countries in the world. Understanding this paradoxical assessment requires us to examine China’s efforts from technological, policy, and economic perspectives.

According to Chinese official media Xinhua News, China has more than 17 million individuals with visual impairment, one of the largest visually impaired populations in the world. As a result, Chinese scientists are deeply committed to developing technologies that can cure or assist them.

A key to restoring vision lies in repairing the degenerated photoreceptor cells. Existing technologies often rely on invasive methods, such as inserting special wires through the eyeball and stimulating retinal cells using externally powered devices. These approaches cause significant trauma and require users to carry heavy external power sources, causing inconvenience.

However, Professor Zhou Peng’s team from Fudan University has led the development of a new prosthesis based on a nanomaterial. This prosthesis, called TeNWNs, is ten times thinner than traditional products and can generate enough electric current under light alone—without external electrical stimulation—to activate residual retinal pathways, enabling a person with visual impairment to regain functional vision.

On June 6, Professor Zhou’s team published a paper in the journal Science, titled “Tellurium Nanowire Retinal Nanoprosthesis Improves Vision in Models of Blindness”, which detailed their breakthrough. Their prosthesis successfully restored visual perception in blind lab mice and was also tested on primates such as crab-eating macaques. No adverse reactions were observed even six months after implantation. While this therapy has not yet entered clinical trials, it offers hope for future vision restoration in human patients.

In the meantime, for those unable to access advanced therapies, Chinese scientists are working hard to help them experience the beauty of the world in other ways.

In China, the number of guide dogs is very limited, there are just over 400 guide dogs for 17 million visually impaired people. To address this problem, Professor Gao Feng from Shanghai Jiao Tong University developed a robotic ‘guide dog’ in 2024. It can navigate its physical environment using cameras and sensors, including recognizing traffic light signals—something traditional guide dogs cannot do. Professor Gao points out that traditional dogs are inherently limited in supply due to breeding constraints and the extensive training required, but robotic guide dogs can be mass-produced like cars—especially in a major manufacturing hub like China—making them more affordable over time.

In 2018, a visually impaired student named Wang Yun scored 623 out of 750 on China’s college entrance exam (Gaokao), earning admission to Tsinghua University—one of the country’s most prestigious schools. In June 2024, Tsinghua graduated its first visually impaired postgraduate student, Liang Jiangbo. To ensure that visually impaired students can participate in the Gaokao, China provides braille and large-print exam papers. Yet, for students like Wang and Liang, learning remains a particularly challenging task.

Braille is one of their most essential learning tools. Since 2021, China has published over 500 new Braille books, public libraries across the country provide approximately 35,200 reading room seats for visually impaired readers and hold a collection of 146.6 million Braille books. However, braille books are often 10 to 20 times larger than standard books and come in far fewer varieties. Additionally, traditionally printed braille books rely on mechanical embossing, and repeated reading wears down the raised dots, making them difficult to read.

To address these issues, Song Yanlin, head of the Green Printing Lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Chemistry, spent 11 years developing a 3D nano-ink. This ink forms a film on paper that penetrates the fibres and creates a capillary-anchored network, making braille dots highly resistant to wear. The team also optimized printer algorithms to improve printing speed and accuracy, achieving a rate of about 400 pages per hour—significantly reducing costs and helping more visually impaired students. Song said that they also plan to integrate braille printing into daily consumer goods—such as food and medicine packaging—to better support the blind community.

Both Fudan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are public research institutions, and their projects are directly funded by the Chinese government—reflecting Beijing’s commitment to visually impaired individuals. According to documents from the China Disabled Persons Federation, in 2024 the government allocated 82.2 billion yuan (approximately USD 11.3 billion) for disability-related programs. In 2017, the federation launched a digital reading promotion project to provide the visually impaired with digital audiobooks and electronic Braille content, as of October 2024, the project covered 353 public libraries nationwide, with the use of over 146,000 smart audiobook devices.

However, former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao once put it this way: “A small problem, multiplied by 1.3 billion, becomes a big problem; a large budget, divided by 1.3 billion, becomes a small amount.” This paradox captures why some areas of care for disabled citizens in China still fall short.

A 2021 investigation found that even in well-developed cities like Beijing and Tianjin, tactile paving was often damaged, incomplete, or worn smooth. Many visually impaired individuals complained that the paths were frequently blocked by illegally parked bicycles and scooters. Professor Zhao Lizhi from the Beijing Foreign Studies University School of Law pointed out that although China was one of the earliest signatories of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has issued regulations like the Barrier-Free Environment Construction Guidelines, these rules lack clear enforcement measures. The guidelines mandate that the owners or managers of tactile paths must maintain them, but in practice, responsibility remains vague and unclear. In other words, regulations exist, but how and by whom they are enforced is still a gray area. The report called for elevating these regulations to the legislative level to strengthen accountability.

Over the past four years, Beijing and some other cities have made efforts to address these problems.

For example, in February 2022, Changning District of Shanghai adopted suggestions from visually impaired individuals and renovated the tactile paving around The Shanghai Blind Children School. Measures included minimizing the number of turns and replacing manhole covers with trip-resistant designs; In June 2023, China passed the Barrier-Free Environment Construction Law. Article 23 mandates that tactile paths must be installed in areas with high accessibility needs—such as major roads and commercial centres. Audible traffic signals must be installed near key facilities like schools for the disabled or employment centres. In November 2024, Liangping District in Chongqing addressed the issue of blocked tactile paths by shifting a 5-kilometre stretch one meter to the side and replacing worn bricks. The district also upgraded bus stops with smart technology and added voice announcements to help the elderly and visually impaired navigate public transit safely.

So how would you rate China’s treatment of people with disabilities—on a scale of 1 to 10? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Editor: Charriot Zhai