China to improve toilets to three-star standards in three years

BEIJING — China will be spending the next three years improving the standard of toilets at tourist sites across the country, the head of China National Tourism Administration said last Thursday (Jan 15), according to Xinhuanet.

Following tourists’ long overdue complaints, the country will be launching a “toilet revolution” this year to raise the cleanliness and quality of toilets countrywide, as well as add more toilets.

About 33,500 new toilets will be built in China in the near future whereas 25,000 will be renovated, Mr Li Jinzao, the head of the tourism authority said.

Beijing aims to have the toilets at three-star standards by 2017 and has asked local authorities across China to help achieve this goal by increasing policy support and launching campaigns.

The improvements on public restrooms are likely to have an impact of the number of tourists visiting the country, alongside Mr Li’s estimation that direct investment in China’s tourism sector would hit three trillion yuan (S$645 billion) in the coming three years.

The Telegraph reported that Mr Li admitted the current state of toilets was not good enough, where toilets are insufficient and unhygienic. He promised to make them cleaner and better managed, as part of the three-year plan.

Sources: XINHUANET, TELEGRAPH