As autumn deepens and temperatures drop in Tianjin's Water Park, a unique market fills the air with warmth and excitement. The annual "Jinzhi Market," a volunteer service public welfare event, focused this year on the "Sunshine Action" for assisting people with disabilities. Hosted by the Tianjin Disabled Persons Federation, the Municipal Social Work Department, the Municipal Transportation Committee, the Communist Youth League, and the Women's Federation, the atmosphere was lively with frequent interactions.
Under the theme "Creating Smart Love and Building Dreams Together," this year's event highlighted technological innovation to enhance the service quality and upgrade the assistance industry for individuals with disabilities. Five special functional exhibition areas were set up, showcasing smart home applications, assistive technology demonstrations, interactive experiences, professional assistance services, and intangible cultural heritage displays, all readily accessible to the public.
At the event, citizens interacted with disabled friends, experiencing cutting-edge accessible information technology that broke down communication barriers and allowed them to see how smart solutions enhance home life, bringing tangible improvements through innovative technology.
Technology Breaking Barriers Technology plays a crucial role in transforming the lives of people with disabilities and supporting the comprehensive and high-quality development of disability services. The smart device display area attracted significant interest, with many gathering around a large screen showcasing the Ringtong APP. Reportedly, this mobile application was designed by the Tianjin Disabled Persons Federation for individuals with disabilities, aiming to build a municipal database of accessible facilities using GIS technology. This facilitates barrier-free travel for individuals with disabilities while dynamically tracking the geographical distribution of disabled persons, thereby providing a solid foundation for designing public service resources that are accessible.
"The Ringtong APP has gathered data from 161,000 points throughout Tianjin, leveraging advanced technology to achieve new breakthroughs in the city's barrier-free environment, making travel more convenient for individuals with disabilities," shared Liu Yang, Deputy Director of the Information Technology Division at the Tianjin Comprehensive Service Center for Persons with Disabilities, in an interview. Recently, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, many domestic and foreign guests visited the city, leading to an increase in tourist numbers during the National Day holiday. Following this, the Tianjin Disabled Persons Federation and relevant units upgraded the Ringtong APP, enhancing electronic fencing technology to set safe activity ranges and automatically notifying users to help visually impaired friends avoid temporarily controlled areas during the summit. The “Cloud Tour” feature was also enriched with 3D and VR panoramic displays of the Haihe River scenic area and improved sign language broadcast capabilities, allowing disabled friends to deeply understand Tianjin's historical and cultural background.
In addition to the Ringtong APP demonstrations, the smart hardware on display also drew attention. While appearing cold in a technological sense, the robotic dog was, in fact, designed for companionship and simple assistance for those with limited mobility. Nearby, the smart exoskeleton knee brace, with its wearability feature, challenged conventional perceptions of assistive devices. Many participants tried on the exoskeleton, standing up and walking, genuinely surprised by the support it provided.
The interactions with these devices illustrated not only the warmth of technology but also translated the concept of "barrier-free" into tangible experiences. It is not merely a one-sided aid; instead, through technological innovation, it builds a bridge for diverse groups to participate equally in life and explore the world freely.
Cultural Healing through Spirit Advanced technology serves as a robust support for individuals with disabilities by eliminating barriers. In the intangible cultural heritage exhibition area, handcrafted items were displayed, embodying the warmth of traditional craftsmanship while nourishing the cultural spirit for disabled individuals. Zhang Yufang, a volunteer from the Tianjin Tidal Charity Service Center, who has osteogenesis imperfecta, passionately supports women's and disabled groups by leveraging her skills in intangible cultural heritage. She remarked, "This is our unique wheelchair flower patch product, crafted from yarn into various patterns, which we then donate to disabled partners to encourage them to go out confidently and integrate into society." Her Tidal Center promotes flexible employment for women, with initiatives like the "Tianjin Women's Home Craft Workshop," engaging over 40 women’s craft teams in the Tianjin area and positively impacting nearly 20,000 flexible jobs.
Here, intangible heritage is not merely about skills but embodies a cultural spirit that has been passed down for millennia, filling the spiritual "barriers" for individuals with disabilities who participate in cultural projects and becoming a bridge connecting them to society.
During the event, leaders from various departments awarded honor certificates to outstanding psychological volunteers and community psychological service representatives in recognition of their professional contributions in constructing Tianjin's psychological service system for individuals with disabilities, helping many to better integrate into social life.
This event built a dual-driven barrier-free model based on "hardware support" and focused on "spiritual nourishment." It transcended the traditional framework of merely meeting basic needs, advancing towards the higher goal of improving quality of life and realizing self-value, truly interpreting the deeper significance of "comprehensive accessibility."