A wheelchair accessible passage in Hai'an. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

A project aiming to improve accessibility for the disabled in Hai'an, a county-level city in Nantong, has been included in the 2026 Jiangsu Habitat Award list.

Since the program kicked off in 2018, Hai'an has developed a systematic approach to accessibility. The county drew up a special plan for the creation of an accessible environment (2020-35), dividing its urban area into demonstration, key, and guidance zones.

In its demonstration zones, Hai'an has renovated curb ramps at over 100 intersections, installed 667 tactile paving segments and 16,000 meters of guide paths, retrofitted 85 public buildings for accessibility, and added nearly 30 accessible parking spaces. 

In 2022, the project was featured in the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's urban renewal cases and was selected as a Jiangsu provincial urban renewal pilot project.

"We will continue putting citizens first and building Hai'an into a county-level city of quality and well-being," said Chen Zifeng, director of the Hai'an Urban Renewal Service Center.