Chengdu Dialogue in the Dark

Chengdu’s Dialogue in the Dark (Did) is an adventure into the senses. A visit leaves you more aware of your benefit of sight after experience what it is means to be Visually Impaired (VI) in China.

Without sharing to many details . . . a large portion of the exhibition is completely in the dark. Great efforts have been made to create a space that is pitch black. This is the only Dialogue in the Dark facility within China that has an exhibition like this.

Similar exhibits can be found in Germany, Japan and Israel.

The Experience in Dialogue in the Dark Chengdu

Covering an area of 960 square meters, Dialogue in the Dark is the first DiD permanent exhibition in Mainland China. It has been endowed with the unique characteristics of Chengdu city while retaining all the features of a typical DiD Exhibition.

For most of your visit here, you can see absolutely nothing!

Not even putting your hands in front of your face or the legs of the person that keeps bumping into you.

There will be a VI guide using his/her voice to lead you the way and encourage you to explore the surrounding environment by using your hands and cane.

Voice, smells, wind and the texture of all the things in this world have become the medium for you to perceive the surrounding environment.

How Does Dialogue in the Dark Compare to Other Attractions

When visiting some other attractions, you use your eyes to capture the scenery around you. Sight helps you shape your sense to this world. 

Without seeing any thing in Dialogue in the Dark, you need to develop all of your other senses to feel the surrounding environment. The pictures in your brain come from the combination of the things you touch, the voice you hear and your imagination. It offers you an opportunity to explore and define the world you used to know in another way.

Why You Should Experience Dialogue in the Dark

• Dialogue in the Dark offers a totally different travel experience as all the pictures in your brains comes from the things you touch, the voice you hear, and the feel you taste. Below are three main reasons for you to visit here:

1. Explore yourself. During the visit, you will feel everything slows down without using visual sense, and the surrounding environment is so comfortable and peaceful.
    
2. Discover your different senses. By using touching, hearing, smelling and feeling, this experience will help you restore your simple life and define the world again.
    
3. You will find everything is so hard without seeing. This visit will increase your respect, and educate you to appreciate the diversity and others

History and Origin of Dialogue in the Dark

Founded in 1988, Dialogue in the Dark is a non-profit organization has offered this chance for more than 9 million people all over the world. They have created many totally unseen environment for visitors to explore by using their hands, ears and even noses.

Tips When Visiting the Dialogue in the Dark Chengdu

1. The exhibition is open to public 10:00 to 20:00 from Tuesday to Thursday, 10:00 to 22:00 from Friday and Saturday along with 13:00 to 22:00 on Sunday.
2. The ticket fee is 100 Yuan per person during week days and 120 Yuan in weekends and public holidays.
3. The journey in the dark takes about 75 to 90 minutes at most. Each group can include at maximum of 8 persons and groups or staggered every 15 minutes to maximize the experience.
4. The correct way to use cane is to swing your cane in an arc on the ground in front of you — from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock.
5. Children under age 12 are recommended to visit accompanied by adults. Kids under 8 are not recommended to visit.
6. No smoking in the exhibitions. Food and drinks are also not allowed to take into the exhibitions.
7. Photograph and recording are not allowed in the exhibitions.
8. Women are not suggested to wear high-heeled shoes when visiting the exhibitions.
9. The whole exhibition has been equipped with monitoring system to ensure a safe experience.