GUANGZHOU - Facilities for disabled people in Guangzhou have been greatly improved thanks to new barrier-free amenities built for the upcoming Asian Para Games.

Hou Yongquan, director of Guangzhou's urban-rural construction commission, said the recently completed barrier-free facilities at the 13 competition and six training venues are permanent and will continue to benefit disabled people after the para games.

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In addition to the barrier-free passages and sloping paths, improved facilities have been placed in lifts, bathrooms, medal presentation podiums, gates and doors in the competition and training venues and the athletes' village, Hou said.

"More than 4,000 athletes, 2,000 team officials and 1,100 technical officials from across Asia are expected to participate in these games, which will take place in Guangzhou between Dec 12 and 19," Hou said.

This year Guangzhou has also built 1,129 kilometers of tracks for blind people on 41 major streets, doubling the previous number. As well, the city improved barrier-free facilities in major shopping centers, hotels, hospitals, parks and other public places.

Guan Xianshen, who has been using a wheelchair for years, said Guangzhou's barrier-free facilities have greatly improved in recent months.

"I can easily pay cash, swipe a credit card and sign my name at cashier counters when I go shopping in Grandbuy department store now that the store has lowered some counters to help disabled people," Guan told China Daily.

Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, has more than 5.4 million disabled people, which is 5.86 percent of its total population. The province has the fourth-largest number of disabled people in China, after Henan, Sichuan and Shandong provinces.

Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, was chosen as a "model city in the construction of barrier-free facilities in China" in February 2005.