Public Toilets, Bathrooms.
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Photo: Edgard Hörz |
There’s good news and bad news about public toilets in Beijing. The good news is, that with over 5000 of them, Beijing probably has more public toilets than any city in the world. The bad news is that, even with efforts to modernize them, not all of the toilets will meet a sparkling international standard.
Many of the city’s public bathrooms actually serve communal bathroom facilities for some of the older hutong areas of Beijing. Many of the houses in these areas traditionally had no indoor plumbing, making the public toilet a common sight.
In the past, these bathrooms could have been described as having a suboptimal level of hygiene, but the city government has made great strides in improving the facilities in preparation for the Olympics - in many cases completely demolishing the previous bathroom to build a new one in its place.
This does not, however, mean the demise of the infamous squat toilet, which is still prevalent in public facilities thanks to its enduring popularity with the local populace. But these days, most public restrooms – from those in the Bird’s Nest to those in the most traditional hutong, have either alternating stalls of western-style and squat toilets, or one handicapped stall featuring a western toilet.
It’s worth noting that toilet paper is rarely provided, and users are encouraged not to flush paper, but rather to use small in-stall bins provided for the purpose. The prepared explorer would be wise to keep a small supply of tissue or toilet paper handy.
The public bathrooms are ubiquitous and well marked with easily recognizable signs. Oddly, it’s only in several more upscale restaurants that Chinese signage is used exclusively, making 男 (man) and 女 (woman) the first characters you’ll want to learn.