Changsha City in Hunan Province has 40,900 blind people. Thirty thousand of them are able to work and over 30 percent (9,000) are employed primarily as massage therapists.

But learning to be a masseuse is a real grind. The blind students in the Changsha School for Deaf-Mutes often choose therapeutic massage as their major, knowing that becoming a qualified massage therapist requires years of training and practice. Under the guidance of skilled instructors, their curriculum encompasses such topics as: "Basic Massage", "Finger Practice", and "Educational Psychology for the Blind".

Routine chores begin every morning. They study Jingmai, the body's internal vital energy routes, along which the acupuncture pressure points are distributed in the lab and do muscle exercises on the playground.

These blind students literally visualize a future paved with buckets of gold, first through working for a private massage clinic and then by establishing a private practice.

In China massage therapists can either ask for a minimum wage or for performance-related pay, with the latter being more lucrative. "Quite a few of them get rich by dint of good technique," the instructors told Nanfang Weekend. They sited 37-year-old Yuan Huiqiu as an example. He draws a monthly stipend of some 3000 yuan. Huang Chen, another graduate originally from Zhuzhou City, runs his own business. He has opened up a massage clinic chain and has invited a host of his peers to work with him. Their success stories greatly encourage the school's junior alumni.

The student is studying acupuncture energy points associated with Jingmai, July 6, 2007.

The teacher at the school is instructing students how to build up their finger strength by pushing up, July 6, 2007.

Massage students also acquire academic knowledge.

In Huang Chen's body-care clinic, these highly skilled massage therapists are waiting in the break room for potential clients, July 6, 2007.

When going downstairs, the congenital amblyopic students lead the others because they are light sensitive.

Yan Jinhua, only 20-years-old, works in Huang Chen's clinic and earns more than 1,000 yuan per month, a great salary in her eyes.

(China.org.cn by He Shan, August 1, 2007)