Beijing's toilet horrors flushed away as Olympics near

    By Rong Jiaojiao

    BEIJING, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Strolling along Beijing's Chang'an Avenue in May, Kevin Born was drawn to an ancient Chinese-style building with delicate wooden carvings and wash paintings -- only to find it was a public toilet.

    Inside, he found a granite floor, remote-sensor flushing, automatic hand drier and piped music. He found it difficult to believe that only three years ago when he first came to China, answering nature's call was an experience not for the faint-hearted.

    "You had to take a deep breath and dash into the toilet. You held your breath and your head high, and never looked down. Then you'd dash out quickly for another gasp of fresh air. All within 30 seconds," recalls Kevin, 30, an engineer from Germany.

    The city launched a three-year campaign -- with a 400-million-yuan (57 million U.S. dollars) investment -- to modernize its public toilets in 2005 as part of its effort to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games.

    With 1,000 new public toilets being built and renovated each year, the fetid back-street privies are being replaced with clean, well-maintained flush toilets.

    Now, Beijing is flushed with pride that all the 5,333 public toilets, boasting standardized white male and female figure signs, are available within a five-minute walk of any downtown location.

    In addition, there will be 700 toilets in Olympic venues by the time the Beijing Games start and an additional 800 nearby.

    Meanwhile, toilets in restaurants, bars and shopping malls are required by the government to be maintained properly, not only for the sake of their business, but also to show a more civilized Beijing.

    "As the host of the 2008 Olympics, Beijing is trying to improve the state of its commodes and make every trip to a public restroom pleasant for millions of athletes and visitors this summer," says Yu Debin, deputy director of Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Tourism.

    A survey by the bureau in 1994 showed more than 60 percent of overseas travelers were dissatisfied with Beijing's toilets, and most described going to the smelly and dirty toilets as a revolting experience.

    The construction and management of the toilets in a city reflects the level of civilization and living standards of a society, says Ma Kangding, an official with the Beijing Municipal Utilities Administration Commission overseeing the "toilet revolution".

    Zhou Jiang, 76, lived in a siheyuan, or courtyard home, with no modern amenities for decades. He used his nose to locate a public toilet when he was a child.

    "I would squat over a huge pit, and would feel dizzy if I looked down because I could be hovering over a two-meter pit with no water to flush to it," he recalls.

    In the 1960s, when China was still struggling to feed and clothe 600 million people, the sanitation of the public toilets was deemed a trivial matter. Yet the economic boom since the late 1970s has dramatically changed the landscape as well as transformed public toilets in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

    In 2002, when Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, the city accelerated the renovation public toilets. The designation "W.C." was replaced by "toilet" and clusters of five-star toilets were set up in tourist attractions. To guide people to the nearest toilet, the government has included toilet signs on tourist maps and will equip the online search device installed along the main streets of downtown with electronic toilet maps within the year.

    The renovations also included hi-tech devices to save water and neutralize odors. Water-conserving equipment is being fitted in bathrooms of all Olympic venues, with the hand basins and toilets equipped with inductive flush valves, which only use a tenth of the water flushed away in ordinary toilets.

    The city also dispatched 8,000 toilet maintenance staff, each responsible for a specific restroom to ensure frequent and thorough cleaning. They also received training in hygiene standards and techniques, Olympic knowledge and practical English expressions, says Ma Kangding.

    "There are selective inspections every week and the result is revealed on the website of the Municipal Utilities Administration Commission, which will affect the income of the maintenance staff," says Ma.

    Meanwhile, there's a culture clash over which kind of toilet is best. Westerners have been used to seated toilets, which are more comfortable and convenient for the elderly or infirm. The squat, or keyhole, toilets widely used in Chinese public toilets are considered more hygienic as there is no body contact, given the condition of some public toilet seats.

    At more than 30 test events held by the games organizers, the squat toilets at many of the new and renovated venues drew frequent complaints from foreigners. Even though the Olympic venues have been completed, there will be a few changes to replace squat commodes with seated toilets.

    "Not all of the toilets will be changed, but those for journalists, athletes, and VIPs will be," says Yao Hui, the deputy director of venue management.

    Education on properly using toilets is another important task, says Ma Kangding. "The good image of modern toilets will go down the pan if the users don't change their bad habits. Some people still leave shoe prints on the toilet seats, or even take the whole roll of toilet paper away."

    Along with working faucets and hand-driers, the 1,700 toilets located in downtown areas and tourist destinations are required to be equipped with toilet paper and soap, but maintenance staff often find these items disappearing quickly or damaged. As a result, most of the public toilets are short of toilet paper and users have to either ask the staff to provide paper or bring their own. Public toilets in hutong areas, which are mainly used by neighborhood residents, have no toilet paper.

    The government has sent out free pamphlets to promote "civilized behavior", including topics such as toilet use, spitting and queue jumping. Inside public toilets, reminders of the proper use of toilets are posted on the walls.

    "Most of them are quite humorous with a human touch, which is acceptable to the public," says Guo Weidong, director of the Publicity Department of Beijing Municipal Utilities Administration Commission.

    But most importantly, he says, the maintenance of a clean toilet depends on "the self-discipline and the standards set by the public.

    Kevin used to be curious about the Chinese signs on the walls of some men's restrooms that read: "A small step forward, a big leap for civilization."

    After realizing its meaning, he says, "I guess this could also summarize the overall improvements to Beijing's toilets. "