Toilet Revolution in Progress 

01/04/2017

The government is concerned about toilet quality. Image: Wikimedia Commons

​chinaurbanisationnews

China is making steady progress in its nationwide toilet revolution as it looks to lift tourism's contribution to economic growth amid a persistently weak global demand for exports.

Next-generation Chinese toilets equipped with charging points, ATM, and WiFi. Image: AFP/Getty Images

A total of 50,916 toilets have been installed or upgraded since the toilet revolution began in 2015, reaching 89.33 percent of the official target of adding 33,000 restrooms and renovating 24,000 over the 2015-2017 period, according to Li Jinzao, head of the China National Tourism Administration. 

​Responding to the national call, cities like Beijing and Shanghai have made their move. 

Image: Beijing News/Beijing Evening News

​Revo-loo-tionary Beijing

One of Beijing’s busiest public toilets has applied face scanners to fight the scourge of toilet paper theft. This step is to target civil misbehavior by residents who take excessive paper than needed and even take a whole roll away with them. Complaints from toilet attendants suggest that, in some cases, public toilet loo rolls are used up in merely two minutes. 

Face scanning to obtain toilet paper. Image: South China Morning Post

​The automated face recognition paper dispenser works as toilet users have to stand in front of a high-definition camera for 30 seconds, after removing hats and glasses, before a 60cm ration is released. Those who come frequently will be denied paper provision, and every user must wait nine minutes before reusing the machine. 

As indicated by reports, toilet paper use at one of the park’s public toilets has dropped from 20 to 4 rolls within three days after applying this facility. 

People unnerved by camera surveillance Image: istockphoto.com/happymannet

​Concerns have arisen however. Some users feel uneasy about their bathroom visit being recorded. “I thought the toilet was the last place I had a right to privacy, but they are watching me in there too,” wrote one use on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter.

30 seconds' waiting time or longer in case of software malfunction may cause inconvenience for people in an emergency. When the machine completely breaks down, bathroom staff will have to manually give out toilet paper. 

Unisex toilet Image: gmw.cn

Shanghai, Unisex Approach

Similarly, Shanghai has built its first unisex toilet as a pilot project of the toilet revolution. And more of these facilities will be built in Shanghai owing to public enthusiasm for them; an official from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center was quoted as saying by thepaper.cn.

Yet regardless of its attractive appearance, the unisex toilet has only been used by about 4,200 people since it came into service in November 2016. And not all users feel comfortable about the experience of using an unisex toilet. "I felt very awkward when I went to a unisex toilet for the first time in Taiwan. It felt like boys were looking at me when I washed my hands, even though they were not," Wang, a 21-year-old college student from Northeast China's Liaoning Province said.

A family-friendly toilet with a miniature toilet for children. Image: AFP/Getty Images

Besides unisex facilities, many "third public toilets" have also been built in China, especially in scenic spots, also as part of the toilet revolution. 

These large toilets that offer greater privacy are designed for people with children or old people of different genders, as the extra room makes it easier to accompany someone.

​​But it may generate confusion. "Many people have no idea about who exactly those toilets are for. They are confused with the sign on the door, some of which read 'disabled only,'" a toilet cleaner told Travel Zone, a leading Chinese travel news website, in November 2016.

​"Effort is needed to solve the confusion, making sure the toilets are fully used," Li Jinzao, head of The National Tourism Administration (NTA), said in November 2016. Li added that "toilets are the trickiest problem facing the national tourism and a drawback of our social civilization and public service system."

Digital marketing opportunities introduced Image: AFP/Getty Images

The NTA held a working meeting on February 4, urging the country's 5A-class scenic spots to install gender-neutral bathrooms, and announcing plans to build 604 "third public toilets" across China including 271 of newly built and 333 renovated.

Liu Simin, vice president of the Tourism Research Institute of the China Society for Future Studies, said that local governments need to plan numbers of male, female and unisex toilets according to local demand to ensure that people actually use them.

The government must conduct field visits when planning toilets to save money and gauge demand, Liu said.

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Read the original article at Xinhua, Guardian, Global Times and Telegraph

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