China Braille Library brightening the dark world of the blind

Located in Xicheng District of Beijing, the China Braille Library covers an area of 28,000 square meters. More than 500,000 copies of braille reading materials are available there. The digital braille library has more than 13,000 types of audio reading materials, with a duration of about 60,000 hours.

The reading zone here is divided into six reading rooms including braille, audio and large print books. All rooms are equipped with barrier-free facilities.

Urna shows me around one of the reading rooms.

"For example, the reading desks are specially designed for the blind. Each side of the desk has a ridge, which prevents water bottles from rolling off the desk. If the readers can't find their walking sticks, or knock them over, the desk is designed with a clasp for the readers to fix the canes to it. A small stool with wheels on is available for the companion of the library user and volunteers. There is also a hidden charge socket for mobile phones or laptops."

As well as book lending and mail services, the library also organizes book clubs, which are for sighted and non-sighted readers.

There's a Chinese proverb saying "traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books." To help visually impaired people realize their dream of traveling, the China Braille Library has set up a special museum, where visitors can touch the world.

The theme of the ongoing exhibition is "touching civilization". It features Chinese and world histories from ancient to modern. The exhibits come with audio guides and braille texts. More than 100 items are displayed. Most of them are models, sculptures, and statues, so they can be "viewed" when touched. Some parts of the exhibits are shiny because they have been touched by so many hands.

Liu Ze, a guide at the museum, is showcasing a reproduction of ancient Chinese chime bells.

"In most museums, the exhibits are preserved in glass showcases. There're short barriers to keep tampering hands away from the items on display. Here, we encourage visitors to touch and listen so they can understand the displays. The items range from ancient to modern times…Take the chime bells from China's Zhou Dynasty for example, visitors with visual impairment come and play them themselves. They are quite amused by the music."

Liu Ze, a guide at the museum in the China Braille Library, showcases a reproduction of ancient Chinese chime bells. [Photo: from China Plus]

A visually impaired person himself, Liu Ze completely understands the demands of the blind community. He's put himself in the place of a visitor, trying his best to satisfy everyone.

"I don't tell them the color or the brightness of an exhibit at first. Instead, I give them a brief introduction to its feel, its height or even the temperature. It doesn't mean that I studiously avoid the visual elements. I just want to make sure which one is more acceptable to them. Sometimes, even if I don't say anything about the appearance of an exhibit, they judge from the frosted surface that it's something in a dark color. "

Having worked in the library for more than ten years, Liu Ze has served thousands of visitors from all over China. Some of them have left deep impressions on him.

"Some visitors are fascinated by the displays. They never get tired of visiting the museum. One day, I saw a man, alone, carefully touching every piece of a 3-D terrestrial globe. I didn't know what he was getting from this. He told me, if he was given a piece of paper, he would have been able to perfectly copy the globe. Sighted people acquire their knowledge from TVs or magazines, but blind people need more media to get to the world. The library manages to enrich their experiences in different aspects and in different ways."

Of all the exhibits, the bar chime is one of the favorite items, mostly because of its crisp sound. But Liu Ze has a profound understanding of the musical instrument.

"Many people like it the most. Listen, what a great sound! Actually, it consists of many small cylinders of solid iron. I used to tell the visitors 'Don't look down upon these small iron bars.' They play wonderful music when they work together. It's the same as us. Each individual is inconspicuous. United, we can make a big deal."

There are now over 40 disabled people working in the China Braille Library, which is more than ten percent of the total number of staff. Their jobs range from librarian, museum guide, braille proof-reader, and software programmer.

The computer software for the blind is called "Sunshine Screen Reader", and it turns the texts on the screen into speech. It was developed by a research team at the library. Half of the team members are disabled.

Library director He Chuan is in charge of developing the auxiliary software. When he was three years old, He lost his eyesight after suffering a high fever. In 1994, after finishing his college education in northeast China's Changchun University, he joined the braille library. His first job was text proofing.

In early 2000, He Chuan joined in developing software for the blind.

"Visually impaired programmers have an advantage in developing screen reading software. They have a better understanding of what blind people really need. If they are capable of writing code, the program they design will be closer to the demands of users."

The screen reading program can translate the written text displayed on the screen for a voice synthesizer, which then reproduces into speech. It can also read back other information that may be present on the screen such as menu options.

According to He Chuan, the Sunshine software has been used in education in all blind schools in China. It has turned the dream of reading and writing on computer into reality.

28-year-old Zhang Shuaishuai is an alumni of He Chuan. He joined the team in 2016 as a programmer after graduating from Changchun University. Like most blind students in China, Zhang majored in massage in university. Had it not been for the software, being a masseur might have been his life job.

"The first time I heard of the software was in 2005 when I was in primary school. I was surprised that blind people could use computers. I was really interested in it. With the help of the software, I started to learn how to use a computer. Later I learned computer programming. It accompanied me from when I was a teenager to being a college graduate."

Zhang Shuaishuai, a visually impaired programmer in the China Braille Library, writes code via text-to-speech screen reader. [Photo: from China Plus]

Years of practice has made Zhang Shuaishuai a keyboard master. In a few seconds, he finished writing a greeting sentence on a Word page, which reads "Hello, everybody! Welcome here to find out how blind people use computers. You're listening to the Sunshine Screen Reading software."

Browsing webpages, receiving and sending emails, shopping online and writing programs, Zhang Shuaishuai describes the software as a bridge between blind people and computers. In a larger sense, it has opened a new window for them to see the outside world.

With the extensive application of mobile technology, visually impaired people are no longer satisfied with using computers. To help them keep up with the times, the library provides training programs on how to use smart phones.

He Chuan, who has been consistently promoting information accessibility, explains.

"We have noticed that there's a crying need for mobile apps for the visually impaired community. Although we don't develop cell phones or apps, we train them how to use apps to hail taxis, do online shopping, and use WeChat. Blind people in metropolis like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are familiar with apps. But those living in remote areas like Yunnan and Guizhou are shut off from the outside world. Some may have smart phones, but they've never heard of mobile apps before. We play the role of messenger. We show them the advanced functions on their phones, then teach them how to use the apps."

He Chuan says new technology has not only changed the way they get information, it has also expanded their social networks, promoting communication between blind and sighted people.

"In the past, people with visual impairments spent most of their time at home. They were eager to talk to others, but the lack of communication tools prevented them. Now, with new techs like the screen reader, blind people can 'see' more things, get more information and have more interaction with others. It's an immense transformation. Also, the attitudes of the blind have changed a lot. In the past, they thought that they belonged to a very limited group of people who were marginalized in society. (Even today discrimination still exists to some extent.) When they were unfairly treated, they seemed to overreact. With increasing social interaction in recent years, they've realized that everyone has it tough."

China now has 85 million disabled people, of whom around one fifth, or 17 million, have visual disabilities. Over the past decade, China has implemented several policies to empower these people. For example, since 2014, visually-impaired students have been allowed to take the national university entrance exam, the Gaokao.

By the end of 2017, China had more than 959 reading rooms for braille and audio reading materials, which were built in public libraries at county, prefectural and provincial levels nationwide.

The China Braille Library is also a good example.

Statistics from the library show that the organization receives more than 30,000 visitors a year. Now it has more than 50,000 registered members. The library provides services for two million visually impaired readers a year. It has also recruited a 3,000-member volunteer team.

In addition to better facilities, the attitude of society towards blind people has taken a positive turn.

American author Helen Keller once said, "Once I knew only darkness and stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living."

During the interview, He Chuan said working in the China Braille Library makes him happy. He always forgets he is blind.

As a witness, a partaker and also a beneficiary of the transformation, He Chuan is full of hope for a bright future for China's blind community.

"The education and information services for the blind have efficiently improved over the past ten years. It has changed the lives of blind people, especially those under the age of 30. For example, when the screen reader was created, the users were in their teens. They are now in the prime of life. Their future will be totally different from that of my generation, and the older ones."

Yang Jia, a visually impaired female adviser to the CPPCC or China's top advisory body says she is optimistic about the future of visually impaired.

"I believe that with today's technology, especially in terms of gene therapy, I believe that in the future, it's not Helen Keller's 'Three Days to See', but 'Three Decades to See' for the visually impaired."

She adds she looks forward to seeing more blind people get the chance to lead normal lives and be more confident.

(Written by Sun Yang, narrated by Yang Yong)