GUANGZHOU - Disabled people in Guangzhou now have greater access to cultural facilities and events.

The Guangzhou Museum on Yuexiu Mountain in the Yuexiu Park opened a special room for the visually impaired earlier this month.

The 60-square-meter room allows people to visit the museum online on three computers, with the help of screen-reading software, and also to feel replicas of some selected cultural relics.

It also provides books in Braille on history, science, fiction and motivation, among other topics.

The Braille version of the book "An Ancient Capital and a Pearl in South China: Major Museums and Historic Sites in Guangzhou" was also launched.

The Five-Ram Statue on Yuexiu Mountain, the symbol of Guangzhou, is now accessible to wheelchair users as an elevator has been installed.

The statue is just one of the cultural sites in Guangzhou to have become barrier-free.

Meanwhile, an exhibition of 100 photos taken by the hearing impaired, entitled "Beautiful Guangzhou, My Home", is on at the Guangzhou Museum until February 18, 2011.

It is one of the 100-plus cultural events being held in Guangzhou during the games.

An exhibition of more than 200 pottery items and oil paintings produced by amateur artists with mental disabilities, entitled "Sunshine in Winter," is being held at the Nanyue King Mausoleum Museum until Dec 23.

The Guangdong Puppet Troupe, Guangdong Cantonese Opera Theater, Guangzhou Theater and Guangdong Folk Performing Arts Troupe are also presenting their works during the games.

A two-month exhibition at the Guangzhou Museum is displaying exquisite bronze ware, wood sculptures and porcelain from the collections of Tan Kah-kee. The late Tan, born in Fujian province, was a late prominent businessman, community leader and philanthropist.

China Daily