Senior officials from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported that the campaign nicknamed a “toilet revolution” is progressing forward to surpass 2019. The aim of the campaign is to open new restrooms for tourists.
In 2019, there were approximately 22,300 new tourist toilets constructed in the country, which is 17% more than the original 2019 target, according to the ministry. Travelers can find the locations of public toilets on an electronic map, which also provides information about the facilities available.
According to the ministry’s director of public services, Li Hong, approximately 98,000 tourist restrooms can be located, nationwide, on e-maps, accounting for 82% of the total number. He added, that the top priority of the toilet revolution campaign is transferring from construction to management in 2020 to implement further improvements. Cleanliness and convenience are at the top of the list for tourism toilets.
An amendment for the standards used to evaluate and classify tourists’ toilets is in the works to improve the quality of tourism services, nationwide.
In 2017, the former China Tourism Administration which merged with the ministry last year released a 3-year plan which would provide 47,000 tourism toilets constructed or renovated by the end of 2018. With added new technology, such as water-saving facilities, the toilets should be more user- and environmentally- friendly, according to the minister.
Yashan Mountain in Jiangxi province is a scenic place that has improved its reputation using innovative and ecology-friendly tourism toilets. Its 9 tourism toilets were designed with themes including bars and buses with materials that are made from recycled waste. Han Lei, director of Dayu Zhangyuan’s marketing department, said the toilets also offer various services including machines and lounges. The authority believes that these improvements will help them attract more tourists.