China’s blind therapists earn a living through traditional massage

BEIJING - Peng Xuan has been operating a massage parlor in the Chaoyang District of Beijing for nearly 20 years. Like many blind massage therapists in the country, he learned the therapeutic skills in order to earn a living.

"Our massage is called traditional Chinese medical massage, which is also known as blind massage. Why do customers like a blind massage? Firstly, blind people cannot see, so their hands have better touch and sensitivity," Peng Xuan said.

There are 17.5 million visually impaired people in China, making them the country's largest disabled group, according to the World Blind Union Asia Pacific.

Blind masseurs are often thought to be especially skilled, as their heightened sensitivity to touch helps them find areas of tension without visual cues.

Massage is used as a therapeutic treatment in traditional Chinese medicine, usually done over clothing and focusing more on therapy than relaxation.

"Many young people work at a desk for a long time, sitting and standing for a long time, bowing their heads for a long time, often staying up late, and not resting well. The work pressure is relatively high, so there are some pain and fatigue points in the cervical spine and shoulders. Blind massage can accurately find the customer's pain and fatigue points, thereby relieving fatigue and relaxing the pain points," said Peng Xuan.

The therapists go through intense training.

"We were founded in 2003 and now have 12 employees. We have particularly high requirements for our employees. Firstly, they need to go through formal, vocational, or college institutions and receive systematic, theoretical, and practical training. Secondly, they also need to have more than 10 years of clinical work experience before they can be admitted,” said Li Kun, owner of the Massage Clinic in Beijing’s Chaoyang.

The people who visit massage parlors are usually the working class, in particular those whose jobs require them to stand on their feet for hours every day. A mother who experiences back pain after giving birth also benefits from the massage.

"I used to work in management and the service industry, where I had to stand and walk for long periods every day. I had more waist, leg, shoulder, and neck problems than normal office workers because we also had desk work. Later, I got married and had a child. When I was pregnant, I couldn't [get a] massage, which was very uncomfortable. After giving birth, I found a blind person to massage. Here, Mr. Wang has provided great help with postpartum repairs, such as pelvic and misaligned lumbar vertebrae," said patient Wang Yu Xi.

Massage became a profession aimed specifically at the blind in China in the 1950s and was formalized in the 1990s with the establishment of the China Massage Association of Blind Practitioners.

With China’s economic growth in the 1990s, more massage parlors, for both blind and sighted practitioners, appeared across the country as people gained more income and leisure time.

Although many blind masseurs held recognized qualifications, they were restricted from working in medical institutions until 2016, when the Law on Traditional Chinese Medicine acknowledged their skills, allowing some to earn higher incomes.

Therapeutic massages, especially done by blind people, usually cost around 120 RMB (23 USD) an hour.

Blind massage has improved job access for visually impaired people in Beijing, but the practitioners believe more progress is needed for equal freedom in work and daily life.

Rekar Aziz contributed to this article.