Chinese blind celebrate White Cane Safety Day with music to convey hope

The Light of Music Blind Children's Choir from the Beijing Blind School and a blind singer named Jiang Can sing “To Leave No One Behind,” written by Zhang Haidi, chairperson of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation. [Photo by Ma Hua/China.org.cn]

Nine-year-old Xie Yufei is a grade-four student in Beijing School for the Blind. When she first arrived at school, she hardly dared to speak. Since she began performing with the school choir, she has become less reserved and often smiles happily.

“A wonderful concert! The artists were very professional,” said an audience member who had never seen blind people performing before. "I will definitely recommend it to my family and friends next time.”

To support visually impaired people who are studying music, China Braille Press has intensified the production of braille music scores, annually providing 100 new works in recent years. The electronic version of the scores are also uploaded on the website of the China Braille Library for visually impaired musicians to download free of charge.

The concert was the result of a two-day performance skills improvement training course for blind music practitioners held by China Braille Library. The training content includes effective body language, guidance on dos and don’ts, and other skills needed on the stage.

“We wanted to use this concert to assess whether the trainees have made good progress through their training,” said He Chuan, director of the Information Accessibility Center of the China Braille Library.

He also commented that there are a lot of visually impaired musicians who are highly talented, but lack basic knowledge on issues such as reading braille music scores, stage management, computer music production, and recording. The library has organized several courses for them, and provides visually impaired people with numerous services catering to their needs, such as braille books and social education, to help improve their literacy level and broaden their prospects of employment.

Zhang Haidi, chairperson of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, and Gan Bolin, a renowned blind Erhu performing artist, extended warm greetings and best wishes to all those with a vision impairment in China, encouraging them to pursue their dreams and make their own contribution.

China has 17.3 million blind people. The organizers hope that they can convey an active image of the blind, encourage more people with vision impairment to take an active part in the society, and engage the general public in joint efforts to build a more inclusive and prosperous society.

Measures were taken to protect against any risk from the pandemic, such as showing a QR code certifying the carrier to be COVID-19-free, checking body temperature, wearing facial masks, and social distancing in the auditorium.