(Ecns.cn)—A private, free admission cinema specifically for the blind has been operating for 7 years in Beijing's Xicheng District, said the Beijing Times on Wednesday.
Located in a Siheyuan (traditional local courtyard housing complex,) this 20-meter -square theatre cinema has only a DVD player, a flat-screen TV and some chairs. Despite the simple and crude equipment, many blind people regularly drop by and enjoy a movie. Most of them experienced their first movie in this small room.
Modest as it is, the project has impoverished Wang Weili, the man who runs the cinema in own house and volunteers as film narrator for his blind audiences. He estimates as many as 300 movies have played in the little cinema so far. In addition to the full set of equipment, Wang started providing his audiences, some of whom have trouble sparing time to regularly show up for a movie, homemade DVDs accompanied by his taped narrations. To afford all these materials, Wang sold his car, spent every penny in his bank account, and even turned to his parents for financing.
However, Wang remains positive about the future. To him, this is more than a cinema; it's a window he opens for blind persons on the wilder, brighter outside world. "I want to expand this project nation-wide one day so that more in this disabled group have the chance to 'watch' a movie."
