Disabled man travels round China on wheelchair

 

Quan Peng

Quan Peng, a 29-year-old paraplegic from Gansu province in western China, has proved that there is indeed ability in disability.

He is traveling more than 3,500 miles (5,670 kilometres) across China – by wheelchair.

CNN says Quan set off from Beijing in August 2014 and has so far visited 43 cities and towns in five provinces. In the next six months, he hopes to reach the southern tip of the country – his final destination.

Quan says the goal of his epic journey is to make people with physical challenges like him to be treated like anybody else.

"I see it as a battle," he told CNN. "I'm not only battling against my disability, but against discrimination."

Quan, who travels alone on a shoestring budget, has refused any offers of financial assistance. He wants to rely on himself and has wheeled himself throughout his journey.

The journey has not been smooth by any means. He's slept in a tent or in his chair with only the shelter of an umbrella, and camped out in hospitals, banks and public toilets.

The few times he tried to stay in hotels he was turned away.

"Restaurant owners would refuse to take me in because they see me as a beggar; I go to a hotel, they would tell me they are fully booked," he said.

China has 85 million people with disabilities, according to the most recent figures from the China Disabled Persons' Federation. But that hasn't stopped discrimination against disabled persons in the workplace and even in education.

However, the country has tried to improve access by installing wheelchair ramps and disabled restrooms in bigger cities like Beijing where Quan moved to in 2013 and found a job in customer service.

He quit a year later to start his cross-country trip, reviewing disabled facilities in cities and towns. He also visited museums hoping to learn about different places.

He initially thought his journey would take nine months but after more than 566 days, it will likely take more than two years.

"The battle against disability includes my own physical condition and the barriers out there," he told CNN.

His biggest challenges came at Taishan, one of China's holy mountains. Too proud to ask for help, he crawled to the summit.

"There is no place I can't reach after that," he said proudly. "I have no mental barriers now."

Quan says he wants to use his unique wheelchair odyssey to raise awareness of the need for wheelchair-accessible facilities around the country.

He wonders why "on earth would a country let its 80 million physically-challenged get around by crawling."

One of the big challenges he faced was in restrooms. He couldn't turn around his wheelchair in many of the disabled restrooms he's encountered. Others were locked up.

Even in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, which are better equipped for the disabled community, Quan says he's not able to take a bus.

Why is he hell-bent on relying on himself?

"I would like to try my best to let people know that we are able to work, we are able to create value; we are not useless people staying in bed all day long," he said.