Characteristics of Toilets in China

Despite of the common use of flush toilet in places like Macau and Hong Kong, people in many provinces in China, like Guang Xi, Xi Qiang and so on are still using those very primitive toilets. Let’s see the characteristics of the toilets in these places. A Chinese saying “一哭二跳三笑四叫”can describe the characteristics of those toilets. In English, literally, it means “First cry, Second jump, Third laugh Fourth shout”. “First cry” means the smell of toilets is too strong that makes your tears come out; “Second jump” means the floor is too dirty that makes you jump over the dirty spot; “Third laugh” means you look at other and laugh when you realize that there is no door and wall between each hole in the toilets; the last one, “Fourth shout” means mosquitoes and insects that bites you make you shout. Let’s us see it one by one.

No privacy: Going to toilet is supposed to be a private matter. However, you have no privacy at all in these toilets. The toilets usually have no door and just have one row or two with numbers of hole on the ground. The better one has a short wall between each hole, but the height is usually up to your breast, so you can see the one next to you clearly when you get up after you finished your business. Sometimes, it is even worse; there is no wall between each hole, you can see everybody in the toilet.

Horrible smell: The toilets in China really stink. Most of the tourists take a deep breath before they go inside. If that breath is not enough for you to finish your business, you, for sure, will suffer. According to the international regulation, the odor of toilets has 6 rates. Rate 0 to 1 means no odor; Rate1 to 2 means you can feel the odor slightly; Rate 2 to 3 means you can feel it definitely, but not too strong. Rate 3 to 4 means you can feel the odor easily. Rate 4 to 5 means you can feel it obviously. Rate 5 to 6 means you can feel it severely. The odor does not only include the smell of the waste, but also the chemical products used to clean the toilets. Research of 1983 showed that the rate of Beijing’s public toilets varies month to month. The odor rate was 3 to 4 from January to April and 4 to 5 from May to October.

Poor flushing system: Most of the toilets do not have a flushing system at all, what they provide you are a bucket of water with a big bowl in it. You have to pour your waste down with the limited water. Sometimes, it is so bad that the bowl is stolen or the bucket has no water in it. Another kind is you do not have to flush at all, what you have to concentrate is you relieve in the right place because the bottom of hole is either river or a place for collecting the waste. The last one is like this one, there is a channel under each hole and there is a master flushing system in the front compartment. When the person in the front compartment flushes the toilet, it flushes the whole way through. However, sometimes the flushing system is not working or damaged. It is a common phenomenon that it is not repaired for a long time.

Poor environment and facilities: The environment of these toilets, of course, is not much better than the flushing system. The floor is always wet; with many dark shoeprints on it or toilet paper is everywhere. Due to the bad or no flushing system, waste is always left in the toilets. This leads to many hygienic problems, flies and insects are there too. Under such a bad environment, you don’t think that there is toilet paper is provided. Remember to bring one pack with you when you go to these toilets. Sometimes, you have to bring a bottle of water with you too because there is no place for you to wash hands for some toilets.

Squat toilet: Do you realize that most of the toilets in China are squat toilets even though some of them have the flushing system like the sitting toilets. Foreigners have to get used to it when they travel in China. An American shared her experienced on the internet. A few years ago, she was so happy to see a sitting toilet in China, but she discovered that a pair of shoe print was on the sitting toilet and realized that people squat on it do their business. This is not hygienic for the next user of the sitting toilet. Therefore, Chinese government tries to buil