The Special‘One’

By Yuan Yuan

One seemingly trivial issue has vexed Liu Wenyan for over 30 years. Liu only needs one shoe， but every time she goes shoe shopping she has to buy a pair.

Growing up in Guizhou Province in southwest China， Liu lost one leg in a traffic accident at the age of 4. Now aged 37， she has spent over three decades searching for either a seller of single shoes， or someone else with whom she can share the pair.

Paralympic high jump star Gui Yuna， who is the same age as Liu， faces the same problem. Gui comes from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and， at 7， also lost her leg in a car accident. The accident didnt discourage her from pursuing her athletic passion and in 2007 she broke the high jump world record for women amputees at Chinas 2007 National Games for Persons With Disabilities. One year later， she acted as a torchbearer for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Despite her success， Gui is still bothered by the shoe problem.

“We spend money on a pair but only use one，” Gui said. “It makes us feel were wasting half of the price.” What to do with the unused shoes is another issue. Simply throwing them away is a waste of money， but keeping them at home is not practical—not only because they take up space， but also because they are a reminder of the missing limb and money.

The shoe link

Statistics from China Disabled PersonsFederation show that there are about 2.2 million amputees in China， of whom 70 percent have lost lower limbs. Among this group， the majority can be fitted with artificial limbs， however， a small number， approximately 30，000 with high amputations， cannot. This small group is in great need of purchasing only one shoe.

“In fact， the number of people that need single shoes is much bigger than that，” said Zhang Xuyin， an amputee and mountain climber.“Some amputees who are able to use artificial limbs also have these needs. Normally， the shoe on the normal leg wears out much more easily than the one on the artificial leg， especially for amputees in sports. We always need to buy spare shoes as a backup.”

Zhang used to be a boxer and had his leg amputated due to illness when he was only 20. After regaining his confidence， he took up mountain climbing and has since reached the top of some of Chinas most famous mountains， including Mount Tai. The climbing videos he has shared on short video platforms have become online hits， and his next goal is to summit Mount Qomolangma.

In 2007， Luan Qiping， a resident of Anshan in Liaoning Province， happened to know that two of his friends， both amputees， wear the same size shoes. He introduced the two so that they could meet up and share a pair.

Inspired by this， Luan established a chat group on QQ， a popular online messaging platform， to pair amputees with the need of buying single shoes. The group attracted several thousand people from all over the country， and shoe manufacturers began contacting Luan and offering to donate shoes. Over the past 13 years， Luan has received and distributed over 50，000 donated shoes to amputees.

“The problem [with relying on donated shoes] is that the choice of designs is very limited，” Luan said. “The donated shoes are mostly outdated and even if someone can find a partner to share a pair， they have to discuss it with their partner and agree on a choice. A better solution to this problem is to create a market of single shoes and allow people to choose freely.”

The market solution

Wang Shengtian， an employee of Tmall， Alibabas e-commerce platform， learned the groups need to buy single shoes while chatting with a friend who is an amputee. Further research helped him gain a better insight into this group and the stories of its individuals.

After moving past the frustration and desperation of losing a leg， many amputees regain a sense of determination that motivates them to chase their dreams. The optimism and mental strength of many of these individuals have gained them recognition and fame on social media.

Niu Yu， now 24， lost her right leg after being buried under rubble for three days following the catastrophic 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province when she was only 11. “I was in primary school then and dreamed of becoming a runner，” Niu said. “I dont remember how many surgeries I had undergone before I could finally stand up again， on one leg.”

A decade after the earthquake， in 2018， Niu finished a half marathon in Wenchuan， the epicenter of the earthquake， with her artificial leg. On October 14， she was invited by U.S. sportswear brand Pony to walk the runway during Shanghai Fashion Week. The photos of her walking with her steel leg went viral.

Niu now works as a photographer and has almost 1 million followers on short video platform Douyin. “It feels cool to regain power over a handicap，” Niu said. “That which doesnt defeat you， can only make you stronger.”

Wang and his colleagues at Tmall initiated a plan dubbed the One Shoe Plan， allowing customers to buy single shoes at half the price of a pair. The plan received the support of the China Disabled Persons Foundation. Seven brands including Warrior， Skechers， Reebok， Qiaodan， Camel， Semir， and ECCO participated in the program.

“Its not as simple as selling a pair of shoes separately，” a source from Reebok said. “It involves many adjustments in supply chain， inventory， stock and design， but its all worth it.” Each company created new designs for their shoe boxes， which are half the size of a regular box.

The plan was launched during the SinglesDay shopping festival， an annual online shopping spree that officially falls on November 11 each year.

“Many niche items have entered the market to meet the needs of special groups， such as transparent protective masks that allow people with speaking and listening disabilities to communicate with lip language during the pandemic，” Wang said. “We hope to see more items like these helping people with physical disabilities gain access to more adaptable and tailormade business services.” BR