BEIJING - More than 80,000 physical rehabilitation institutions for handicapped people have been built in the country, as of the end of 2011.

Large-scale rehabilitation centers have been set up in 29 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, said Li Jianjun, director of the China Center on the Study of Rehabilitation, at the Seventh Beijing International Forum on Rehabilitation.

The country is now in urgent need of well-trained specialists in this field, Li said. As many as 500,000 members of staff are needed with the number of professional workers only about one tenth of the figure required.

In addition, the country is lacking a unified national standard on the administration of the rehabilitation units.

China has 85 million people with physical disabilities, 260 million suffering from chronic diseases, and 160 million elders in need of rehabilitation, according to the official.