Who doesn't like to go for a drink with friends? A Shanghai pub makes it easy for the disabled

In downtown Shanghai, there is a small bar with no steps at the entrance, adjustable-height tables and braille engraved on tabletops. It's designed to give the visually impaired, wheelchair users and other disabled people barrier-free access to drinks and social intercourse.

Pub HandyCup is reportedly the first in China to offer free mobility for handicapped patrons. Its name plays on the word "handicap." As a sign behind the bar reads: "Make the invisible visible."

The bar's founder Xia Yujie, born in 1990 in a small town in Anhui Province, lost the use of his left hand in a medical accident when he was in high school. He went on to study at the China University of Political Science and Law and later earned a law degree from George Washington University in the US. He returned to China in late 2017 to work as an attorney.

Last year, Xia decided to take on a second role beyond his legal career and opened Pub HandyCup.

"I've always wanted to do something practical in the field of accessibility," he said, "something that could bring about real change."

He noted that fully accessible consumer venues are still relatively rare in China. And who doesn't enjoy a drink out with friends?

Xia used his own savings to fund the bar's start-up costs. HandyCup eventually found a home in a creative park along Xinhua Road. Compared with more expensive watering holes in that busy commercial area, this venue stresses a more relaxed, inclusive atmosphere. Sycamore trees lining the street outside add to the calming vibe that Xia hoped to achieve.

The site was just an empty shell to begin with, giving Xia a large canvas to design his dream.

"Actually, running a barrier-free space is no different from running any other commercial venue," he said, adding that a barrier-free design isn't complicated or particularly expensive. The key is to incorporate accessibility at every stage of the planning process.

HandyCup officially opened in May last year. Its sliding entrance door is lightweight, making it easy to open without assistance. Tables are adjustable and provide ample legroom for wheelchairs. Braille engraved on the tabletops tells visually impaired patrons "a barrier-free dream," Chinese name of the bar, and a whiteboard displays basic sign language phrases. Alongside craft beers, the bar offers kombucha, a trendy health beverage.

China currently has an estimated 85 million people with disabilities. Additionally, there are nearly 300 million people aged 60 or older, as well as other groups that can benefit from easy-access environments, including pregnant women, young children and those with temporary injuries.

In 2023, the country passed its first comprehensive national law promoting barrier-free living environments.

Xia continues his law work while managing the bar with a business partner.

Every one or two weeks, HandyCup hosts themed events, such as braille and sign language workshops, and card game nights. To ensure equal participation for people with disabilities, many events include sign language translations.

The popularity of the pub is catching on. Xia said up to 20 percent of the bar's regular patrons are people with disabilities and the venue has already achieved a modest profit.

Gong Jinghua, known in the local community as Maomao, is visually impaired and one of the bar's earliest supporters. Before HandyCup opened, he participated in online discussions about accessibility design and contributed suggestions for braille signage.

Gong told Shanghai Daily that most public venues treat people with disabilities as needy individuals who always require assistance. However, at HandyCup, he said he feels just like anyone else.

"I interact with everyone in a very normal way," he said. "That's exactly how I imagined it should be."

Gong, an accessibility advisor for nonprofit organizations, said accessibility is a two-way street.

"On the one hand, the public needs to understand that those with disabilities are just people like anyone else," he said. "On the other, we also need to understand their special needs that make that integration possible."

He said the pub has expanded his social circle, including many new friends who don't have disabilities, adding. "HandyCup meets a very real social need."

Gong has led several workshops on Braille and accessibility at the bar, and he's not the only volunteer. The pub has up to 20 part-time "bar hosts" who tend bar if Xia or his partner is out. Each host receives a shift-based payment and free drinks.

"For them, it's a fun experiment outside of their regular jobs," Xia said.

He said HandyCup has really changed his view on the world and deepened his skills as a lawyer specializing in corporate law. It has also brought him in contact with people outside the law community, including workers in artificial technology development and community development.

"Some of them come here specifically to talk about products for the handicapped," Xia said. "We talk about whether we can co-develop something new together."

Accessibility has wide-ranging applications, he explained. For example, iPhone's back-tap shortcuts were created for users with motor disabilities but are now widely deployed for other users. Elevators in subway stations, initially meant for wheelchair users, are now commonly used by elderly passengers, travelers with luggage and parents with strollers.

"Many accessibility designs end up becoming features benefiting everyone," Xia said.

He said he has seen many positive changes in the years since his hand disability threw him into initial confusion about his future.

For example, students can now request braille exam papers for the national college entrance exam, map apps include accessible navigation modes, and federations to support the disabled have proliferated.

Still, there's a way to go. Xia said he believes education and employment opportunities are essential for the disabled to be fully integrated in society.

According to the China Disabled Persons' Federation, 9 million disabled people were employed in China last year, including 512,000 newly hired.

Still, job opportunities for the blind remain limited. Vocational training for them is still geared heavily toward jobs like massage and domestic services, while fields such as AI and big data remain largely inaccessible, said a report by Jiefang Daily.

Gong said some tech firms in Shanghai offer positions like AI data labeling or software development for the blind, but "the reality is that for blind people who are employed, the majority still work as massage therapists."

Xia noted that the 2023 law on barrier-free environments has yet to be fully implemented, citing as an example that the complex where his bar is located still hasn't installed an accessible restroom. That's the important next step, he said.