Owner of cinema for blind harbors Olympic vision The lights were dimmed in a room barely 20 square meters in size and the television set flickered into life.

"Welcome to Xinmu Cinema," a middle-aged man said into a microphone, "I am Dawei and, once again, I will be your host this Saturday.

The music accompanying the opening titles began and the narration followed suit.

"On the screen is a white house with a private swimming pool, where the clear blue water shimmers in the sun," Dawei said.

"Here comes the director's name .. Ridley Scott .. and now we are in a house, the blinds are swinging in the wind... and through the blinds, you can see the clear water in the pool. The name of the film appears: Matchstick Man."

Once a week for the last three years, Dawei, whose full name is Wang Weili, has narrated a film for the blind at the tiny cinema he set up at his own expense on Gulou West Street in Beijing's hutong area, just inside the second ring road.

Every Saturday, Li Chongming, who lost his sight during his childhood, comes to Xinmu a couple of hours early, sits in the third row and waits for the film to begin.

"My favorite is Titanic," the 50-year old man confided.

"Without Dawei, I can only listen to the dialogue in the movie, which confused me a lot because there were no visual aids; but thanks to this cinema, I have seen a gigantic ship and a beautiful love story."

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Xinhua