Chinese toilets

[GeneChing]

I was tempted to put this in our Shaolin toilets thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50637) but this ain't Shaolin, or our Eating bitter in China thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65261), but this is sort of the converse. There's also our Low-flow toilets cause stink in San Francisco thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59880), but this is China.

Anyway, we have a lot of folks here who have traveled or are even traveling in China now, so I figured this would be a pretty easy thread to get rolling here.



China Continues to Blaze a Trail for Clean and Safe Toilets (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/05/04/china-continues-to-blaze-a-trail-for-clean-and-safe-toilets/)
4 days ago by Master Blaster
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/13670240605047519th_.jpg?w=550&h=412

Many of us have that friend who visited China only to return with terrifying tales of disgusting toilets, particularly in the rural areas. Frankly though, horrific public toilets are a global problem that must be dealt with. However, being the staunch pro-toilet campaigner (preferring them to a tree or ditch) I want to reiterate, “toilets don’t foul up toilets, people foul up toilets.” This is a policy the China seems to agree with and as such have been creating toilets with revolutionary designs (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2011/11/17/gnarly-chinese-public-toilets-make-you-want-to-hold-it/) that ensure people use them with the utmost patience. Two more have been discovered and are currently doing the rounds on China message board tt.mop.

Our first toilet requires some brain power to use. Like walking into some kind of real life Resident Evil puzzle, you are presented with a toilet bowl atop a sheer one meter drop and about a two inch clearance on either edge.

To help, you are given a blue plastic stool. How do you use it? ****ed if I know, but that’s a challenge would-be defecators must face and take the due care not to make a mess of themselves and their surroundings. While that one helps people learn to be more careful when using a john, there is still the issue of smells. This is a hard problem, since we can’t consciously control odors. Worry not though, for China is on top of that too!

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/13669832717458760th_.jpg?w=500&h=341
This concept also increases security, and significantly reduces vandalism. Plus if someone suddenly has a heart attack or other medical emergency while using the toilet, they can be discovered immediately. If there was one flaw, it would be that they seem a little too close together.

We here at RocketNews24 would like to applaud China for their efforts at creating a safe and unspoilable toilet. Godspeed!

[Jimbo]

I strongly suspect that that first toilet idea is going to backfire on the designers...big time. If it were in a public restroom here, instead of going to the trouble of figuring it out, people would just cr@p all over the floor/walls. I did some janitorial work for a while when I was very young, and people are nasty.

And kind of OT for this (and kind of not), this vid had me laughing WAY more than it should have:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX4cGhQW5Ec&sns=em

[Syn7]

I hate the urinal thing where one retard ****es on the floor and gradually throughout the day people stand back more and more and eventually it's just one giant **** puddle. Nasty. I'd rather just **** on the roses!

[bawang]

with those squat toilets i feel safe. with sitting toilets im always paranoid about catching disease from the seat. its like rubbing your ass against the ass of 100 other people.

[GeneChing]

Is this really China?


Luxury restroom in Chinese department store the envy of Japanese shopaholics (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/07/31/luxury-restroom-in-chinese-department-store-the-envy-of-japanese-shopaholics/)
yesterday by Philip Kendall

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/china-toilets.jpg?w=580&h=690

With seemingly endless stories appearing online about shoddy electronics, blood-red rivers and food products that could put their consumer six feet under, China gets a bad rap sometimes. True, this writer may well have wandered into some of the most poorly kept public restrooms that he has ever seen during a brief stay in the country a few years ago, but there is also plenty of luxury to be enjoyed in China.

Even with my six-figure salary, though, I have a feeling I’d be politely turned away should I even come within 50 feet of the swanky restrooms in this particular Chinese department store.

Taken in the La Perle Shopping Centre in Guangzhou, China, these photos give us a sneak peek at how the other half lives. From the thousands of differently coloured tiles to the mosaic designs on the wall and private ‘refresh’ spaces, this restroom became the envy of thousands of Japanese shoppers today when the following photos appeared online.

▼ Step right in, ladies. Your private rest space awaits!

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/china-toilets-2.jpg?w=580&h=420

▼ Clearly the person who took these photos was able to sneak past the guards…

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/china-toilets-3.jpg?w=580&h=710

Rather than subject its genteel customers to the humiliation of having to answer the call of nature knowing that other patrons may well be able to hear every embarrassing sound, each of the store’s mirror-lined ‘rest rooms’ is actually a made up of a toilet room and a small powder room complete with vanity mirror and a stool to use while freshening up. Customers are free to spend as long as they like in their private rest room, safe in the knowledge that everyday riffraff like you and me are not permitted anywhere near the facilities.

Built in just one year, this 10,000-square metre complex of boutiques and restaurants is thought to have cost around 100 million US dollars to build, and attracts only China’s richest with stores like Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Dior, Fendi, Prada, Hugo Boss, Celine, Burberry, Givenchy, Polo Ralph Lauren and Versace. It is perhaps only natural, then, that the restrooms should be roughly half the size of my apartment here in Tokyo…

[mooyingmantis]

When I was in Qingdao this past May, I stayed in a three star hotel. My host assured me it would have a Western toilet. It did, but the toilet was in the shower stall. :eek: Very easy to $hit, shower and shave all at once. :D

[GeneChing]

Chinese city poised to fine guys who miss the bowl (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/08/21/chinese-city-poised-to-fine-guys-who-miss-the-bowl/)
Master Blaster 3 days ago

Recently Shenzhen, Guangdong announced a new bylaw against “non-civilized” behavior in public toilets of the city. This means that guys for whom the act of urination turns into a Sunday afternoon with a wacky water weasel may face fines if caught.

The introduction of the new law naturally raised questions from the residents of Shenzhen such as the most important: “Who’s going to enforce this rule and how?” Other men, either sheepishly or indignantly asked, “Do you have to pay even if it’s by accident?”

It’s the latest in a string of efforts to improve the conditions of public toilets all over the country such as last year’s “two-flies-or-fewer” policy for lavatories in Beijing.

Aside for misfiring, spitting phlegm on the floor and tossing litter into urinals will also be deemed “non-civilized” behavior when the law comes into effect on 1 September. So if you happen to live in the Shenzhen area you only have one more week to let all of your bodily fluids fly carefree in a public space until you will face hefty fines of 100 yuan (US$16) if caught. As if this could even be enforced in China. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

Exploding toilet in China leads to explosion of puns on the net (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/08/25/exploding-toilet-in-china-leads-to-explosion-of-puns-on-the-net/)
Master BlasterMaster Blaster 2 days ago

On the evening of 4 August, the Liu family returned home at around 9:00pm to the smell of something burning. Thinking the house might be on fire they began to inspect from room to room but found nothing aside from some water dripping from the ceiling.

“I wonder if someone put it out” someone said as they made their way to the second floor still seeing no sign of a fire aside from the stench. Then upon opening the door to the bathroom, they saw the devastation.

The entire bathroom was covered in black soot and scattered debris consisting of ceramic chunks and circuitry. It seemed as if the washlet that the Liu family was using exploded at some point between 6:00pm and 9:00pm.

Their home was spared by the fact that the exploding washlet was blown clean off the water pipe it was hooked up to. The pipe started overflowing and extinguished the flames before they could spread to the rest of the house.

According to Chinese media there have been other occurrences of luxury toilets blowing up in other cities. However, each of the toilets is said to have been made by a different manufacturer. This is also following recent reports of widespread smartphone explosions.

It may not be a coincidence that high-tech products have been seemingly overheating during a prolonged heat wave afflicting many parts of the country. Media outlets are reminding people not to leave plugged-in devices unattended, and to avoid exposing them to direct sunlight.

Meanwhile, netizens who couldn’t resist a story about an exploding toilet came out in full force with comments such as “that’s crappy”; “hot sh*t!” and “maybe they had a gas leak”. However, once the jokes began to subside on message boards someone had a sobering realization.

“Is there anything else that hasn’t exploded yet? I want something more surprising to explode.”

Sadly no one could think of anything funnier that could explode (honorable mention to “****roaches”) and an uncomfortable silence filled the forum. And so with the Liu family completely uninjured and having minimal damage done to their home, the true tragedy of the exploding toilet revealed itself. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Chinese luxury toilets.

[GeneChing]

Oh man, I know I've been on the web too long today when I start posting stuff like this here.

But it is on topic.



Gates fund to spur 'toilet revolution' in China (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2013-08/23/content_16914837.htm)
Updated: 2013-08-23 06:26
( Xinhua)

BEIJING - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on Thursday extended its global "toilet revolution" campaign to China, kicking off a competition with grants of $5 million to encourage Chinese talent to reinvent the toilet.

The Reinvent The Toilet Challenge-China (RTTC-China) will fund research teams in China to develop a "next-generation toilet," which the foundation defines as waterless, hygienic, not requiring a sewer connection or electricity and costing less than five US cents per user, per day.

Li Zili, deputy director of research and development (R&D) at the BMGF Beijing Representative Office said China's R&D capability was growing fast and its innovation could be adopted worldwide.

The toilet challenge is a part of the foundation's Water, Sanitation & Hygiene program. The BMGF has been advocating a revolutionary toilet for 21st century, its top priority in radical and sustainable improvements in sanitation in the developing world, since 2011.

Dr. Doulaye Kone, a senior officer of the program, said "the need for better sanitation in the developing world is clear."

While people in the developed world take flush toilets for granted, research shows that 40 percent of the world's population - 2.5 billion people - practice open defecation or lack adequate sanitation facilities.

Even in urban areas, where household and communal toilets are more prevalent, 2.1 billion people use toilets connected to septic tanks that are not safely emptied or use other systems that discharge raw sewage into open drains or surface waters.

"The consequences can be devastating for human health as well as the environment," Dr. Doulaye Kone said.

Poor sanitation contributes to 1.5 million child deaths from diarrhea each year. Chronic diarrhea can also hinder child development and impede the absorption vaccines, he said

The toilets, sewers, and waste water treatment systems in the developed require vast amounts of land, energy, and water. They are expensive to build and maintain.

"This is why the next-generation toilet should be waterless. Hygienic toilets do not require a sewer connection or electricity, " Dr. Doulaye Kone said.

According to Zhang Yong, a senior official of the disease control and prevention department of China's National Health and Family Planning Commission, despite significant progress in building hygienic toilets in rural China since 2004, about 30 percent of rural Chinese did not have access to such toilets by 2012.

"China aims to raise the percentage of rural residents using hygienic toilets to 75 percent by 2015 and 85 percent by 2020," said Zhang, adding that the government was ready and willing to promote nationwide any "suitable" toilets coming out of RTTC-China.

In August 2012, three prototypes from the first round of grants were selected as winners of the challenge: a solar-powered toilet that generates electricity; a toilet that extracts biological charcoal, minerals, and clean water from human waste; and a toilet that sanitizes feces and urine, recovering resources and clean water.

Dr. Doulaye Kone said funding research to invent new sanitation products was just the beginning. The goal of the foundation was to make these products available and affordable for ordinary people. The foundation will also work with partnerships in manufacturing and commercializing.

As to the prospects of the next-generation toilets, Kone said, "one should not underestimate changes new technology can make."

[ShaolinDan]

The Reinvent The Toilet Challenge-China (RTTC-China) will fund research teams in China to develop a "next-generation toilet," which the foundation defines as waterless, hygienic, not requiring a sewer connection or electricity and costing less than five US cents per user, per day.

Awesome. They're going to invent a hole in the ground. :)

[GeneChing]

It was on another toilet-themed eatery. Or maybe it was the same one as this one. I couldn't figure out how to search for it. :o



New toilet-themed restaurant opens in China: Soft-serve chocolate ice cream? You bet! (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/09/26/new-toilet-themed-restaurant-opens-in-china-soft-serve-chocolate-ice-cream-you-bet/)

Master BlasterMaster Blaster 7 hours ago

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ed530d.jpg?w=580&h=386

In the gradually blossoming trend of toilet-themed restaurants, now the people of Taiyuan City in Shanxi Province have one to call their very own. Having only opened in August of this year, it has been drawing capacity crowds of diners and can often be seen with a line going out the door. Much like a real restroom when in high demand…

Customers being interviewed by Chinanews described the alternative restaurant as “different,” “fun,” and “freaky.” Similar to other toilet-themed restaurants, diners sit on refurbished porcelain thrones adorned with turd-shaped cushions.

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ecce0c.jpg?w=580&h=337

However, in contrast to a lot of other toilet restaurants’ artsy décor, this place has a homier feel to it with white tile walls, towel racks, and faucets jutting out of the walls. Of course, there are also dishes in the shapes of both Western and Eastern-style toilets filled with the various dishes which you can bet are pretty much all some shade of brown.

▼ Plop! Here’s your steaming pile of chicken!
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ed5c10.jpg?w=580&h=372

Toilet-themed restaurants have been around for at least seven years. Back in 2011, one of our reporters visited the popular toilet restaurant chain Modern Toilet in Taipei to lick their bowls clean.

It seems that most toilet restaurants can be found in China or Taiwan, but with a recent survey suggesting that 12 percent of Japanese people eat on the can there may just be a viable market here yet.

Source: Chinanews (Chinese) via Entabe (Japanese)

http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ec8d08.jpg?w=579&h=830
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ed590f.jpg?w=580&h=335
▼ “Excuse me, ma’am? Is something wrong with your giant pooh pillow?”
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ecc70a.jpg?w=580&h=336
▼ “Why won’t this thing flush!?”
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ed560e.jpg?w=580&h=339
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/001aa0ba5c851388ecca0b.jpg?w=580&h=386

[Syn7]

So weird....!!!

[Raipizo]

Eating in the bathroom is disgusting, there is so much bacteria in there, even if you have a clean one.

[David Jamieson]

Apparently pee spray has been almost eliminated in Amersterdam's airport. They've reduced the messes by some 80% by doing a simple little thing to the urinal itself.

There is a fly in there. An image of one actually, baked into the porcelain.

what man can resist a legit target? Apparently not many.

come on, admit it! You're biggest accomplishment is breaking up the scented puck or destroying a cigarette butt. lol

Terminal 4 at JFK now has it too!

[Cheng oi]

This is Crazy

[GeneChing]

Probably traumatized for life now... :(

China: Boy gets stuck in squat toilet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5VlfgrV3LA)

[Alex Córdoba]

Apparently pee spray has been almost eliminated in Amersterdam's airport. They've reduced the messes by some 80% by doing a simple little thing to the urinal itself.

There is a fly in there. An image of one actually, baked into the porcelain.

what man can resist a legit target? Apparently not many.

come on, admit it! You're biggest accomplishment is breaking up the scented puck or destroying a cigarette butt. lol

Terminal 4 at JFK now has it too!

That's even better :cool:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwMgKKmwNao

[GeneChing]

I was just in LA. How ever did I miss this?


Magic Restroom Café comes to California, complete with toilet-bowl seats (http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/toilet-themed-magic-restroom-cafe-hits-california-article-1.1487826)
Toilet cafés are flush with success in Taiwan, so Chinese restaurateur YoYo Li has decided to see if the concept can bowl over American dinners, too.
By Gina Pace / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, October 16, 2013, 6:45 PM


http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1487821.1381963043!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/toilet17f-6-web.jpg
ELIZABETH DANIELS PHOTOGRAPHY

The Magic Restroom Cafe in Southern California is toilet-themed.

If all goes well, this restaurant's business will be in the crapper.

The Magic Restroom Café in Southern California has had a successful "soft opening" according to their Facebook page, and plans a grand opening soon.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1487820.1381963042!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/toilet17f-5-web.jpg
ELIZABETH DANIELS PHOTOGRAPHY
A dessert served in a miniature toilet bowl.

The City of Industry restaurant is toilet-themed, as guests sit on toilet-style stools and are served food in miniature toilet bowls, according to a report from Los Angeles' KTLA 5. Yelp reviews describe the décor as including urinals and toilets along the wall, and shower fixtures near some of the tables.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1487825.1381963047!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/toilet17f-1-web.jpg
ELIZABETH DANIELS PHOTOGRAPHY
Urinals and toilets make up the decor.

The inspiration comes from a place called the Modern Toilet Restaurant in Taiwan, reports the Los Angeles Times. YoYo Li, a first-time restaurateur from China, decided to open one in the United States due to the popularity of such cafes in Taiwan, according to the Times, which describes the place as "rather crude, but it's all in good humor."

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1487822.1381963044!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/toilet17f-4-web.jpg
ELIZABETH DANIELS PHOTOGRAPHY
The restaurant serves Taiwanese fare. including magic curry rice.

The food is Taiwanese fare, including magic curry rice and beef noodle soup. Desserts include ice cream - also served up in miniature toilet bowls.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1487823.1381963045!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/toilet17f-3-web.jpg
ELIZABETH DANIELS PHOTOGRAPHY
Seat covers, anyone?

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1487824.1381963046!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/toilet17f-2-web.jpg
ELIZABETH DANIELS PHOTOGRAPHY
The conept of toilet-themed eateries has been successful in Taiwan.

[GeneChing]

Must post all 23 of these public bathrooms here...;)


Photo of the Day: This camera-shaped toilet in Chongqing (http://shanghaiist.com/2014/02/07/camera-shaped-toilet-chongqing.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/camera-toilet.jpg

This camera-shaped toilet built in the Jiulongpo district of Chongqing is just one of various inexplicably-themed public bathrooms that will be erected in the area to 'represent cultural and economic characteristics' of Jiulongpo. Eh, why not.

The project will include 23 toilets resembling animals, cameras, computers and Transformers designed by the Environmental Art Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.

Better on the outside than the inside, I guess.

[Syn7]

Can't wait to see the transformers toilet. Make that happen.:)

[GeneChing]

Don't worry, Syn7. As soon as I find anything, I'm posting it here.

Until that time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W7rNEeiHhM

[GeneChing]

I don't believe this. Need pic.

Public toilets get a trendy face-lift (http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-04/29/content_17472009.htm)
Updated: 2014-04-29 04:45
By Yan Yiqi in Hangzhou (China Daily)

A park in Zhejiang province is drawing some worldwide attention for the design of its public toilets, which made it onto a list of the world's 10 best.
Each compartment features a window on the top to ensure good ventilation and privacy.
"You'd feel let down if the public toilets at an architecture park weren't suitably striking in their design. Thankfully, the ones at the Jinhua Architecture Park don't disappoint. These stylish concrete loos aim at providing that rarest of things, privacy in a public toilet," said design website Design Curial.
The toilets, which were built in 2007, rank ninth on the list. The others are from Japan, Switzerland, Poland, New Zealand and the United States.
Xu Tiantian, one of the designers, said privacy, which used to be neglected in the design of public toilets in China, is exactly what they were concerned about most. "Easily reproducible, the bending tube shape ensures protection and privacy, as well as functional requirements such as ventilation and natural lighting, without interrupting the connection between user and park," Xu said.
Kong Hanbing, a professor at College of Public Administration of Zhejiang University, said major cities have been focusing on improving public sanitation facilities in recent years.
"Construction of public toilets has been in full speed in many Chinese cities, especially during the preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics," she said.
"Before that, most public toilets in China were smelly. The situation has improved a lot through both the number of public toilets and their environment."
The number of public toilets in Beijing grew to more than 12,000 in 2013 from 2,200 in 2005.
Kong said that the focus now is to provide a nicer sanitation environment.
"Governments tend to use materials that can prevent graffiti and are waterproof," she said.
According to the World Health Organization's annual report on sanitation and drinking water, 65 percent of China's population had access to improved sanitation facilities by 2011. In 2000, the figure was 45 percent.

[GeneChing]

**** Gate trickles on as Hong Kongers hold poop protest

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/erikcrouch/hong_kong_poop.jpg

Well this is just unfortunate. A group of Hong Kongers have been spotted holding a fake-poop protest in anger over last week's public peeing incident in their city. This display might slightly undermine the HK'ers "we have good manners and mainlanders don't" argument.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/erikcrouch/hong_kong_poop2.jpg

Hong Kong's commerce secretary has called for locals to "help educate mainlanders in good manners," and to show understanding and respect for mainland tourists. That probably means "don't gather a crowd to watch you pretend to **** on Mao," but who knows.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/erikcrouch/hong_kong_poop3.jpg

These photos were originally uploaded to Weibo but have been taken down (gasp! Anything to protect the feelings of the Chinese people). Stay classy, Hong Kong.
Such is the cultural divide between HK & PRC...:rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

And all for a cell phone. So tragic.


Two die in cesspit after a woman drops her phone into toilet (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1521835/two-die-cesspit-after-woman-accidentally-drops-her-phone-while-going)
PUBLISHED : Friday, 30 May, 2014, 2:54pm
UPDATED : Friday, 30 May, 2014, 6:12pm
Stephen Chen binglin.chen@scmp.com

http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486x302/public/2014/05/30/toilet.jpg?itok=sPVLDATu
A relative of the victims is overwhelmed with grief at the scene of the tragedy. Photo: sohu.com

Two people died and three were injured after wading into a cesspool's knee-deep filth in an attempt to retrieve a woman's mobile phone and rescue those who fainted.

The two fatalities were the woman's husband and mother-in-law, a local newspaper reported.

The tragedy unfolded after the young woman in Xinxiang city, Henan, accidentally dropped her brand new phone into a cesspit when she went to the open-pit toilet on Wednesday, according to local newspaper Dahe Daily.

Her husband jumped in to find the 2,000-yuan (HK$2,510) phone but he could not breathe and soon lost consciousness.

Then, the husband's mother jumped in to save him but she, too, soon lost consciousness. In panic, the young woman followed and suffered the same fate.

Seeing his family lying helpless in waste, her father-in-law called to neighbours for help.

When they arrived, the old man also entered the cesspit but could not get out while two neighbours who jumped inside fainted.

“The smell was too strong. I lost consciousness before I could see anything,” said a neighbour.

Other villagers found a rope and tied it on rescuers who, taking turns, pulled six people out of the pit.

The husband and mother-in-law died in hospital while the woman and a neighbour remained in the intensive care unit. The father-in-law was also injured.

The woman and her husband had a one-year-old son.

Villagers said the victims were in the pit – which was knee deep in waste –for no more than five minutes.

A hospital doctor said the victims suffocated.

Villagers said the dead victims had pulses after being pulled out but the ambulance did not arrive for more than an hour.

[GeneChing]

i'll believe this when i smell it.



Bacteria that 'eats' odour could bring end to smelly toilets in China (http://shanghaiist.com/2014/07/07/bacteria-could-bring-end-to-bathroom-smells.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/jamesgriffiths/bathroom-soap.jpg

Researchers have found bacteria that feeds off human waste and eliminates odour, creating a possible solution to a persistent problem
PUBLISHED : Monday, 07 July, 2014, 5:23am
UPDATED : Monday, 07 July, 2014, 5:47pm

Mainland researchers have found a bacteria that feeds off human waste and eliminates odour, creating a possible solution to bad smell in public toilets. Photo: AFP

Mainland scientists have developed a "bioweapon" that can wipe out the notorious bad smell in public toilets.

Up to 75 per cent of the odour can be removed, with the rest suppressed by a natural, pleasant fragrance, according to researchers with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The magic is mainly done by bacteria in the Lactobacillus family, which is used in the production of yogurt, cheese, beer and chocolate.

Lactobacillus feeds on human waste, releasing lactic acid that eliminates the growth of most odour-making bacteria.

The technology can be applied in either liquid or power form, and it is cheap. A half-litre bottle costs about 20 yuan (HK$25) and it can be used to treat several toilets as the bacteria grows rapidly on waste.

The "smell-free toilet" study was highlighted on the academy's website last month as offering an "ultimate" cure to an "urgent" national issue.

Dr Yan Zhiying, a bacteriologist with the academy's Chengdu Institute of Biology and lead scientist on the project, said tourists in Sichuan province would be the first to benefit from the technology.

The province is home to numerous tourist attractions, including the Jiuzhai Valley National Park, which plans to introduce the smell-killing germs to its public toilets.

"They will get a refreshing experience," Yan said.

The poor sanitation in most public toilets on the mainland has been a nightmare for many people at home and from abroad.

Many toilets in less developed areas of the mainland do not flush and waste can be left for months, if not years.

To further reduce odour, the team has also researched introducing yeast, which feeds on nitrogen, and bacteria that can produce a pleasant aroma.

The research team spent years isolating micro-organisms from human and pig intestines, where conditions were regarded as more or less similar to a waste pit.

More than 100 possible candidates emerged, all of which were studied and tested in the real world.

Yan said that the technology could be applied to any place with smelly organic waste, such as animal farms or urban dump yards. A major landfill site in Guangzhou had already contacted the team about using the technology.

If the technology is applied nationwide, the institute is able to produce 1,200 tonnes of the powder a year.

But the method only works in certain conditions. For instance, the bacteria thrives in temperatures of 26 degrees Celsius or above, so it cannot be used in unheated toilets in winter.

The micro-organisms also needed food to survive, Yan said.

"The effect will be limited in a flush toilet. The more waste in a toilet, the better the result," he said.

[GeneChing]

very harsh.

very China.



Hangzhou primary school has 740 students and teachers, but only one bathroom
(http://shanghaiist.com/2014/10/29/740-students-one-bathroom.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/bathroom.jpg

When you got to go; you got to go. Unless, your primary school somehow has just one bathroom for the entire freaking school, then you have to wait in line behind 200 other frantic kids before you can go.

That's the current situation at one primary school in Hangzhou, according to China Youth International. When the bell rings to end class it's a race to see who can get an open stall or at least a place in line within sight of the bathroom entrance. Teachers take shifts to keep order in the line, which sometimes can stretch to 200 kids who all really need to use the bathroom.

Kids have adapted and don't dare try to go to the bathroom during the 10 minute break between classes unless it's an emergency. Many even say that they are too scared to drink water during school.

The four-floor building was built in the 1980s and planned to only support the bathroom needs of 12 classes of primary students. Now, the school has 20 classes and a serious problem on their hands. China Youth International reports that the local government is aware of the problem and plans to solve it soon by building bathroom extensions on each floor. But, we wouldn't suggest holding your breath or anything else.

It can turn into an entrepreneurial opportunity for people who live in the area.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/bathroom4.jpg

by Alex Linder

[GeneChing]

Waste cesspit blast in Hunan province injures 15 (http://shanghaiist.com/2014/11/24/waste-cesspool-blast-hunan-injures-15.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/cesspool-explosion.jpg

A total of 15 residents were injured and an entire building collapsed when a cesspool filled with excrement exploded in Zhangjiajie city of Hunan province on Saturday. No casualties have been reported in the incident, thankfully, but we imagine the foul aftermath of the scene has left nearby residents suffering.

Police investigating the case in the city's Yongdang district believe that the blast was triggered when a man surnamed Ding was burning waste outside an abandoned house near the cesspool around 5:00 p.m., according to CRI. They say the fire ignited methane that was emanating from the pit.

One whole residential building collapsed due to the intensity of the blast, and four others were damaged. Residents wounded in the explosion are now being treated at a hospital. That's gotta be so harsh.

[GeneChing]

And here I've been thinking that Chinese Theme Parks (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62642-Chinese-Theme-Parks) were a barometer of their economic growth.


High quality global journalism requires investment. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1bbb7428-7c7a-11e4-9a86-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3LclZ3AON)
December 8, 2014 12:11 pm
China’s potty past has been flushed away
Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai

http://im.ft-static.com/content/images/ebd245d5-3c73-4c3b-8820-48efae1c17e5.img

A golden tale of toilets conjures up a symbol of development as potent as rule of law punditry

From the outside it looks like an art gallery. But this is a gallery of toilets, brought to the residents of Shanghai by Roca, the Spanish bathroom people. It has loos disguised as stacks of books and conveniences that flush with grey water from the sink. The best seller is a sleek commode designed by a former Audi stylist, with a leather seat made by the people who supply BMW with motorcycle perches.

The best-selling colours? A striking deep red, viewed as lucky, and a deliciously understated champagne gold known as tuhaojin, or “nouveau riche gold”. Roca’s China manager says the tuhaojin toilet became popular after Apple launched a golden iPhone in China last year. “People apparently wanted a toilet like their iPhone,” he says.

Nothing would be easier than to caricature China’s golden water closets as symbols of a civilisation in decline. But that’s not what I see in them. Because development is always, when it comes right down to it, about just such everyday intimacies: is the loo half a football field away or right next to the bedroom? Does it reek or sit there quietly conserving water? Does it open automatically, play music and let you trade stocks from the comfort of its heated surface? Proper pundits mutter darkly about rule of law and universal suffrage, shadow banking and debt defaults. But I prefer to tell a tale of toilets.

When I first came to live in China in 2008, mainland loos said “developing country” loud and clear. On our first train journey, to the home town of my then eight-year-old adopted Chinese daughter Grace, the rail car’s potty ponged so much that we could not stomach our picnic.

But very soon all that began to change. The train loos stopped stinking. Prefabricated stainless steel commodes showed up on all newer rolling stock, complete with staff to sluice them down at regular intervals. The only odour on Chinese trains these days is freshly brewed coffee from the dining car.

Closer to home, there was “Pipi Road”, the nickname we gave to the lane just next to our house, where dozens of Shanghai taxi drivers would every day choose to relieve themselves, after dining at one of the neighbourhood dumpling emporia. The stench nearly put me off moving there in the first place. In winter the wet patches froze and in summer they steamed.

And then one morning, a spanking new government porta-potty turned up on Pipi Road. It was staffed from 5am to 10pm every day by a government sanitation worker charged with keeping it smelling like a Swiss meadow. Who said you need democracy to have responsive government? I can’t think of anything more responsive than putting a public convenience where it’s needed. Pipi Road has had to be rechristened.

Even motorway service areas have done their bit for the toilet uprising. On a long bus journey back in 2011 I withdrew to a loo on one of eastern China’s newest superhighways, to find a room with one long ceramic trough for use by all females in need. But on a family road trip on the same motorway last month I found stalls with doors, and even loo roll. Travelling in China just isn’t what it used to be.

Back at the Roca bathroom gallery, the marketing manager Guillem Pages Giralt says he’s seen big changes in how private customers buy water closets too: “Five years ago a customer would just come in and say ‘which is your most expensive toilet’.” That doesn’t happen any more, he says, though Chinese shoppers do like to lie down in Roca’s bathtubs or sit on its commodes for 20 minutes or so before buying, “to make sure it doesn’t hurt the back of their legs”. But the sheer fact that they have 20 minutes (and up to Rmb30,000, or $4,900) to spend making a loo purchase is good news in itself, surely. Only those who no longer worry about the necessities of life can take the time to worry about buying golden ones.

So call me puerile, and unworthy of the pundit’s pen for pointing it out, but this is the stuff that revolutions are really made of. In my six-plus years in Shanghai, China has undergone an economic, social, cultural and technological transformation, in the water closet. A trifle, in the grand sweep of history. But it’s the trifles that count.
patti.waldmeir@ft.com

[GeneChing]

but totally irresistible for posting here



Toilet slides and turd hats: welcome to Tokyo’s crappiest exhibition (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/12/22/toilet-slides-and-turd-hats-welcome-to-tokyos-crappiest-exhibition/)
Scott R Dixon 7 hours ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2014-12-22-toilet-expo-4.jpg?w=580&h=364

Imagine crowds of Japanese families donning poop-shaped plush hats and sliding into a huge toilet. No, this isn’t a scene from a dream brought on by a questionable bowl of ramen, this is just one of the many surreal exhibits from a Tokyo educational expo that organizers hoped would inspire visitors to “gain an increased appreciation of toilets.”

The exhibition, called Toilet!? Human Waste & Earth’s Future, unfortunately finished its three-month run at the National Musuem of Emerging Science and Innovation in Odaiba in October. Visitors to the exhibition were greeted by disturbingly cute poop mascots, such as a “feces ambassador” and a character named Wipey who “loves flushing everything.”

▼ Meet Toire-no-suke, Britto (whose yellow color is representative of healthy bowels) and Pritney, who was recently “shocked to learn of her intestinal age”

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2014-12-22-toilet-expo-1-copy.jpg?w=580&h=219
Image: Miraikan

Lucky visitors to the exhibition walked through different areas where they could learn all about how to evaluate your bowel health from looking at your feces, the best way to drop a deuce, and what happens to your number two once you flush it down. The visit ends with a catchy little number called “Thank a Toilet.”

▼ All aboard the world’s crappiest slide

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2014-12-22-toilet-expo-4.jpg?w=580&h=364
Image: Miraikan

▼ Listen to a preview of the newest hit “Thank a Toilet,” sure to be hitting the charts soon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFiWiVhnRsU

The whole idea behind the project is to demystify what goes on behind the bathroom door and have a more frank discussion about bowel health, sanitation and sewage-related environmental problems.

▼ Also, your toilet is not happy when you call it “dirty” and “stinky,” not appreciating its difficult job

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/2014-12-22-toilet-expo-6.jpg?w=580&h=364
Image: Miraikan

No word on whether this truly crappy exhibition will be making an encore performance or heading overseas anytime soon, but check out the video below to see some more of what we all missed at Toilet!? Human Waste & Earth’s Future.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a toilet to say thank you to.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDAOILpbet0

[GeneChing]

Way to harsh a shopping spree.


Browned off! Shoppers covered in poop after overfilled septic tanker explodes all over busy Chinese street (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2890002/Browned-Shoppers-covered-poop-overfilled-septic-tanker-explodes-busy-Chinese-street.html)

At first eyewitnesses in Hechi city thought there had been a car accident
But when they got closer, they found a tide of foul-smelling brown sludge
Payouts look unlikely after lorry and waste firms each blamed the other

By Dan Bloom for MailOnline
Published: 08:47 EST, 29 December 2014 | Updated: 11:14 EST, 29 December 2014


Stunned shoppers were showered with sewage when an overfilled septic tanker blew up.

The passers-by sought medical attention after having their faces covered in foul-smelling brown sludge in Hechi, China - and the owner of this shop was even less fortunate.

He complained it would take a week to clean up after almost every item on sale was coated in thick, hazardous slurry.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/29/24507F4600000578-2890002-image-a-49_1419860346636.jpg
Sludge: Unsuspecting shoppers were showered with slurry when a septic tanker blew up in Hechi, China

Eyewitness Dong Tang told local television: 'I noticed some people gathered in the street and thought there had been a car accident.

'I wasn't really paying attention, but then the smell hit me. It was disgusting.

'Then I realised that a tank filled with some disgusting brown liquid had exploded, scattering it all over the street and the people who were shopping or walking past.

'At one of the shops, just about every item on display was covered in brown liquid. The shopkeeper was highly agitated.

'He complained that everything was ruined and said he needed to shut the business for a week to clean up the mess.'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/29/24507F5500000578-2890002-image-a-50_1419860352761.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/29/24507F5100000578-2890002-image-a-51_1419860358147.jpg
Stench: Some walked away from the scene covering their noses, while others sought medical assistance

Any hope of compensation looks futile however - because the firm which made the truck has blamed the firm which operated it, and vice versa.

A spokesman for the company that handles the collection and storage of waste in the south western city said the incident was caused by a technical fault with the vehicle.

The company said those affected should seek compensation from the vehicle manufacturer.

The manufacturer, meanwhile, told local media that explosions typically result from poor maintenance and failure to follow the proper operating instructions.

Police said the contents of the truck had mainly been from local sewers, but it also emptied septic tanks from public toilets from time to time.

Spokesman Cai Chin said: 'No-one suffered physical harm, but many of those covered sought medical attention for fear that chemicals used in the cleaning process, or indeed diseases from the sludge, could cause harm to those affected by the blast.'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/29/24507F4B00000578-2890002-image-m-53_1419860396747.jpg
Stuff happens: But the operators of the sewage tanker (pictured) blamed its manufacturers, and vice versa

[Syn7]

Ok, so that's a bit of bad luck.

What would you do? Jump in your car and go home like that? I think I would just strip down and find the closest hose! Toss the clothes and drive home naked.

[GeneChing]

China to launch 'toilet revolution' across tourist sites (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/01/20/china_to_launch_toilet_revolution_i.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/squat-toilet%20copy.jpg

China is promising that a "toilet revolution" will take place at tourist sites across the country this year as it gears up to increase the number as well as the quality of public toilets, the head of China's National Tourist Administration said this past Thursday.

Around 33,500 new toilets will be built at tourist spots in the near future and another 25,000 will be renovated as part of a three-year nationwide plan, Li Jinzao, head of CTA, said in a People's Daily report.
　
Li admitted that the current state of public toilets in the country leaves much to be desired and should be improved to meet with international tourism standards. He said that by 2017, China's toilets will boast a "three-star rating" and will be "of adequate quality, hygienic, free of charge and effectively managed"...yey?

Maybe it will even inspire people to stop peeing on historical structures.

Meanwhile, billions of RMB will be invested in the country's tourism sector in the coming three years, Li estimated.

By Lucy Liu

[Image Credit: Todd Mecklem]
I'll believe this when China gets Wushu into the Olympics (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?1480-The-Olympics-amp-Wushu). :p

[GeneChing]

Not toilets, toilet paper. This is just the beginning of the article as you need a subscription to read it all, but you get the idea.


China seizes toilet paper with Hong Kong Chief Exec Leung Chun Ying's face on it (http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/east-asia/story/china-seizes-toilet-paper-hong-kong-chief-exec-leung-chun-yings-face-it-20)
Published on Feb 7, 2015 4:16 PM

http://www.straitstimes.com/sites/straitstimes.com/files/imagecache/ST_REVAMP_2014_STORY_PAGE_640X360/20150207/jdtopa0702e.jpg
This photo taken on Dec 23, 2014 shows novelty toilet paper with the image of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (right) in a flat turned into a recreation of the main pro-democracy protest site in Hong Kong. -- PHOTO: AFP

HONG KONG (AFP) - China has wiped the smile off pro-democracy activists' faces by seizing 7,600 rolls of toilet paper featuring Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Chief Executive Leung Chun Ying pulling a series of ridiculous expressions.

Hong Kong's Democratic Party said the toilet paper, along with 20,000 packets of tissues, were to be sold at a popular Chinese New Year fair opening next week before the products were seized by the mainland authorities.

The Democratic Party - the largest pro-democracy group in the southern Chinese city - hoped to sell the tissues to raise funds for their activities ahead of a week-long holiday beginning on Feb 19. "I think the Chinese government just wants to suppress all different opinions," the party's chief Lam Cheuk Ting told AFP, adding that the Chinese authorities seized the products at a factory at an undisclosed location on the mainland on Friday morning.

"Our products are just some kind of joke, which presents no harm to so-called national security," Mr Lam said. "It is a violation of freedom of expression," he said, adding that activists were working on a backup plan to ensure the product range would still be available, but refused to give further details.

...

This makes me proud to be an American. Here in America, we can print anyone's image on toilet paper with no fear of reprisal. :D

[GeneChing]

Japan wins here. No question about it.


Chinese shoppers flock to Japan for preferred toilet seats (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/02/10/chinese-shoppers-flock-to-japan-for-preferred-toilet-seats.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/japan-toilet.jpg

Chinese shoppers have long traveled to Japan to stock up on superior-quality disposable diapers for their babies. Now, they're eyeing a Japanese product of luxury for their own derrières.

That is, of course, the toilet seat. Anyone who's been to Japan could tell you that the country produces some **** fine toilets. With their various spray features and heat options, toilets in Japan are far beyond just a porcelain bowl. They play music, they follow commands and they will probably one day take over the human race. Travelers from China to Japan have recently been scooping up bidet toilet seats like novelty keychains, according to China Real Time:

News segments on the shopping frenzy shown on Chinese state television showed a Japanese store manager bemused by herds of Chinese tour groups who take just one afternoon to clean out, so to speak, his entire store. Price per bidet? Just 2,000 yuan ($320) a pop.

Picking up on the trend, the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily just will not admit to China's, and let's face it—much of the world's—shortcomings when it comes to the modern toilet. “Do Japanese toilet lids smell better? the editorial questioned. “Hopefully our countrymen will buy Chinese products, because supporting our country’s industries - isn’t that a kind of patriotism?”

[Image via Wikipedia]

[bawang]

squat pooping is actually gerd for the healthy

[GeneChing]

There's a vid if you follow the link. I didn't watch it. It was taking to long to load and then I was all 'why am I waiting to see this?' :o

China: Boy launched into the air by exploding manhole cover (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-boy-launched-into-air-by-exploding-manhole-cover-1488131#)
By Adam Justice
February 16, 2015 11:44 GMT

An exploding manhole cover launched a boy into the air on 9 February after he threw a lit firecracker into a sewer and triggered a blast in central China's Henan Province.

Surveillance video at a residential community in Shangqiu city shows the boy, accompanied by an adult and two younger children, tossing two lit firecrackers into the manhole and seconds later being blasted about two metres into the air. Two manhole covers were launched more than three metres high.

Bao Yiming, who witnessed the accident and is a member of the community's security staff, recalled the explosion.

"The three manholes were all next to the boy and it was a very serious explosion. The boy lay down here," said Bao. "The boy stood up after a few minutes. His leg had a flesh wound and he had a little bruise on the right side of his face."

The three manholes affected by the accident have been repaired, according to management staff in the community.

[GeneChing]

It must suck to be a Chinese tourist traveling outside of China. All your souvenirs are probably made in China.


Hangzhou man splurges on toilet seat in Japan only to find out it's...made in Hangzhou (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/03/02/hangzhou_man_splurges_on_toilet_sea.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/toilet-seats-japan.jpg

Over the Spring Festival holiday, it's estimated that as many as 450,000 Chinese tourists visited Japan to fork out a total of six billion yuan on products. Among these products were Japanese toilet seats, which, as we've reported before, are being snapped up in bulk by tourists from the Middle Kingdom seeking a "superior" porcelain bowl experience.

One Chinese resident identified by his surname Wang was one of these tourists. According to a Weibo post from Sina News, Wang hopped over to Japan from his hometown of Hangzhou during the Lunar New Year holiday to purchase a new toilet seat for an unknown amount, only to later realize that it was made in China. Actually, it was made in Hangzhou.

"After having come this far, I can't believe I bought something that was actually manufactured right at my doorstep. Have I become a manual laborer moving these toilets or what," he questioned.

Online, netizens have joked that it was actually the toilets that've gone to Japan for holiday.

Unfortunately, however, it's not just toilet seats posing under a superior brand. Another post tells of a sorry soul from China who picked up some hitomebore rice, a high-end Japanese rice grain, during his holiday in Japan for a grand 150 RMB a pound, only to discover that the rice was grown in Liaoning province, where it retails for around six to 15 yuan per pound.

[Image via Flickr]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Katie Nelson in News on Mar 2, 2015 12:30 PM

[GeneChing]

Chinese media pooh-pooh shoppers' embrace of Japanese toilet seats (http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-china-japan-toilet-seats-20150226-story.html)
Japanese toilet seats

http://www.trbimg.com/img-54ef8daa/turbine/la-fg-china-japan-toilet-seats-20150226-001/750/750x422
An employee of Japanese character goods maker Sanrio on Feb. 2 displays a prototype model of a Hello Kitty branded toilet seat, complete with heating and warm water shower functions, in Tokyo. (Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP/Getty Images)
By Sean Silbert

For hundreds of thousands of Chinese travelers visiting Japan during the Chinese New Year holiday, the top item on their souvenir lists was headed straight for their bottoms.

Chinese tourists flooded Japan last week, spending an estimated $959 million in Japan’s shopping malls and department stores, according to Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times. While many splurged on luxury goods, the hot item this season was Japanese toilet seats.

The electric seats, known for being dizzyingly complicated, feature add-ons such as automatic disinfection, bidet services, warmers, perfumes and “masking noises” that can cover up any indiscreet sounds while one is using the loo. Some Chinese buyers didn’t even ask the price for the toilet seats when purchasing them, according to the Beijing Youth Daily. They sell for $300 and up.

On his social media account, Chinese finance writer Wu Xiaobo recently penned a post titled, “Go to Japan to buy a Toilet Seat,” in which he praised the accessories, calling them easy to install.

While the interest of Chinese consumers was a boon for Japanese businesses, the state-run Chinese media was a bit disturbed by the phenomenon.

The Global Times even found it necessary to pen an editorial on the trend, chiding Chinese buyers.

“That Chinese tourists swamp Japanese stores at a time when [China] is facing a sluggish domestic demand is certainly not something to be proud of,” the paper opined. China’s economic growth rate has been slowing, though it still far outpaces Japan’s.

The editorial acknowledged a disparity between the quality of Japanese and Chinese goods, saying that the popularity of Japanese toilet seats can be explained by the fact that “they explicitly show the human touch, intelligent design and sophistication of Japanese goods.”

But the newspaper, known for its vitriolic nationalism, also used the opportunity to take a dig at Japan while saying that Chinese-made goods have been narrowing the gap.

“Japan used to dominate the global household electrical appliance market, but now consumers only recognize its toilet seats or rice cookers, which demonstrates the regression of its industry,” the editorial said.

The toilet seat affair comes amid chilly relations between the two East Asian countries, which have become colder since Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power in 2012. The two nations have been locked in a dispute over a set of barren islands near Taiwan, as well as how to acknowledge and commemorate World War II-era atrocities.

The Chongqing Evening News criticized Chinese shoppers’ embrace of the Japanese bathroom products, noting that similarly fancy toilet seats are already produced in China at comparable prices. Differences in voltages between the two countries make installing ones made for the Japanese market inconvenient in China, the paper said.

The Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily even chimed in, urging Chinese to buy local, and asking, “Do Japanese toilet seats really smell better?”

Despite an official meeting between Xi and Abe late last year that seemingly promised a warming between the two countries, tension at an official level remains high and anti-Japanese sentiment is common in Chinese state media.

In one recent sign of the continued frostiness, the common name of the China-Japanese Friendship Hospital in Beijing was changed this month to remove the word “friendship.”

Silbert is a special correspondent.

If you've ever used a Japanese toilet seat and a Chinese toilet, this makes total sense.

[GeneChing]

Some people just shouldn't travel with their babies.



http://www.ejinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/998624_0a14d9d12969b42f41b8ba2a31173fc7-692x360.jpg
Police were called (left) after the woman refused to close the toilet door. The captain ordered her and her child off the plane. Photos: Apple Daily, internet
Mar 3, 2015 12:44pm

Flight delayed 3 hours after woman refuses to close toilet door (http://www.ejinsight.com/20150303-flight-delayed-3-hours-after-woman-refuses-to-close-toilet-door/)

A Dragonair flight to Beijing was delayed by nearly three hours after a woman refused to close the door of a cabin toilet while she was cleaning up her child’s diaper, Apple Daily reported Tuesday.

Flight KA902 was scheduled to depart Hong Kong at 3 p.m. Saturday with 277 passengers on board. The plane eventually took off at 5:50 p.m. and landed in Beijing at 8:54 p.m. Passengers were furious about the delay.

A passenger surnamed Chan said everyone was seated, waiting for takeoff, when they were hit by a strong smell from the toilet, where a woman from the mainland was taking care of her child, who was believed to be suffering from diarrhea.

The woman was spotted using the sink in the lavatory to clean up what was believed to be feces.

She reportedly refused requests by flight attendants to close the door and became engaged in fierce verbal exchanges with other passengers.

Police were called. The captain ordered the mother and her child off the plane.

The crew needed time to unload the pair’s luggage, and the airline arranged for cleaners to clean the toilet, so the flight was delayed.

Dragonair said in a statement Monday night that a female passenger traveling with a child was ordered off the plane as her behavior on board was deemed inappropriate and her attitude uncooperative.

The airline apologized to the passengers affected by the delay.

– Contact us at english@hkej.com

EL/AC/FL

[GeneChing]

...if you know anyone who has worked in an ER for a long time, ask them to recount some tales of 'slipped and fell' patients. :eek:


There's a vid if you follow the link.


Woman's foot rescued from toilet in China using a spoon (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11450432/Womans-foot-rescued-from-toilet-in-China-using-a-spoon.html)
A woman in Guanxi province had to enlist the help of emergency services - and at one point a spoon - when she managed to wedge her foot down a toilet

By Telegraph video, video source Newsflare
6:34PM GMT 04 Mar 2015

In China nothing is beyond the imagination and this video of fire fighters rescuing a woman’s foot from a toilet proves that very point.

In the footage, captured during the rescue in Guangxi Province on Thursday, the firemen can be seen using special equipment to break the drain and release the woman’s ankle.

At one point, the equipment was sacrificed in favour of a spoon, which fire fighters used to excavate the concrete around her foot.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03220/chinafoot_3220319c.jpg

According to local reports, the woman slipped while taking a shower, causing her left foot to become lodged in the squat toilet.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03220/spoon-rescue_3220317c.jpg

Fortunately, she escaped the ordeal without any serious injuries beyond the bruising seen at the end of the footage.

[fimed]

This is crazy.. I haven't find anything in India.. Toilet shape utensils for eatables ..

[GeneChing]

You'd think if this company had half a brain, they'd open their domestic market at a significant discount.


A look inside the Hangzhou factory making toilet seats for sale in Japan (to Chinese tourists) (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/03/10/hangzhou-toilet-seat-factory.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat8edited.jpg

Thousands of Chinese tourists have recently been traveling to Japan to scoop up its coveted luxury toilet seats. As we previously reported, one unlucky soul from Hangzhou who dropped cash on what he believed was a Japanese-brand porcelain seat returned from the country to find that the product was actually made in Hangzhou.

More precisely, it was produced by Panasonic Home Appliances (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.

Chinese media (perhaps as a firm reminder as to where those so-called superior Japanese lids really come from) recently published some images showing the inner-workings of said factory.

Take a look here:

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseatedited.jpg

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat2edited.jpg

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat3edited.jpg

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat4edited.jpg

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat5edited.jpg

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat6edited.jpg

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/japanesetoiletseat7edited.jpg


[Images via: news163]

By: Tanto Chen

[GeneChing]

Night in toilet (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/metro/society/Night-in-toilet/shdaily.shtml)
Source: Shanghai Daily | March 17, 2015, Tuesday

A MAN has been detained for stealing three garments worth more than 6,000 yuan (US$960) from the New World Department Store on East Nanjing Road on March 9, police said yesterday. The man, surnamed Zhang, hid in the toilet overnight, and stole the garments early in the morning before the store opened. He walked out with the stolen goods after the store opened for business at 10am. He told police he spent about 12 hours in the store’s toilet. Part of me wants more details on this story. Another part doesn't.

[MarathonTmatt]

Sounds like he didn't get away with it. Poor b#stard.

[GeneChing]

There's a Shanxi interior decorator that should be punished.


Look: In this Shanxi restaurant's bathroom, sexy mannequins watch you pee (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/03/26/shanxi-restaurant-bathroom-mannequins-watch-pee.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/maletoiletshanxi1edited.jpg

Images published online yesterday of a men's bathroom in a Taiyuan city restaurant feature some of the most unique urinals we've yet witnessed. (And we've witnessed many.)

Male patrons who approach the toilet bowls to drain the main vein are greeted by a line of scantily-clad mannequins gazing at them from behind a glass wall.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/maletoiletshanxi2edited.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/maletoiletshanxi3edited.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/maletoiletshanxi4edited.jpg

Apparently male customers have repeatedly had to double-check that they're in the right place after walking into the bathroom to see what could be an art installation but may just as well be catering to some weird form of fetishism we've yet to catch on to.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/03/maletoiletshanxi5edited.jpg

Unfortunately for the more bladder-shy patrons, it looks like they're gonna have to hold it in for a while.

Previously on Shanghaiist: Shanxi ****-themed restaurant looks even ****tier than the rest

By Tanto Chen

[Images via: news.163.com]

[GeneChing]

What a horrible way to die. Such a tragedy.


Missing Henan boy found drowned in sewerage treatment plant after falling down construction site manhole (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/04/13/missing_seven_year_old_henan_boy_fo.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/04/henan-manhole-child-rescue-1.jpg

Tragedy has struck in Zhengzhou, Henan province, where a seven-year-old boy's body has been recovered 42 hours after he fell down an uncovered construction site manhole, reports China Daily.

The boy was reported missing after he plunged into a manhole around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The five-year-old girl who witnessed the accident told of how the boy fell through a dusty white cloth which cloaked the manhole and landed in the fast-flowing water. The water had already swept him out of sight by the time rescuers arrived.

Emergency personnel attempted rescue, with fully equipped divers descending into the sewers to search for the boy. However, at 11:30 a.m. today, the boy's drowned body was salvaged at a sewerage treatment plant.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/04/henan-manhole-child-rescue-2.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/04/henan-manhole-child-rescue-3.jpg

In the video below (warning: contains graphic content), the boy's uncle recounts fishing his body out from under the grate, describing it as "too horrible to look at".

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/04/henan-manhole-child-rescue-4.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/04/henan-manhole-child-rescue-6.jpg

In the wake of this tragedy, there will no doubt be questions as to why the manhole was left uncovered and how the child was allowed to encounter it, especially after the shocking death of a two-year-old who also drowned after falling down an exposed manhole in Hunan.

By Liam Bourke

follow the link for the vid...

[GeneChing]

The reason those “how not to use this toilet” signs exist in Asia… (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/04/19/the-reason-those-how-not-to-use-this-toilet-signs-exist-in-asia/)
Meg Murphy
2 days ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/129.jpg?w=580&h=519

Did you ever hear stories about people in horribly embarrassing or awkward situations and thank whatever deity you believe in that it didn’t happen to you? Well you can say your thanks again that you weren’t the man who had to be taken to the hospital for injuries sustained after the toilet he decided to stand on as he… did his business… collapsed underneath him.

The incident happened in a bathroom at Hefei Xinquiao International Airport in Anhui Province, China, the morning of April 16. The injured man reported he was, for some reason, squatting on top of the toilet, taking a poo, when the toilet collapsed. The toilet apparently became unsteady and tipped over, breaking apart when it fell.

The traveler was taken to the hospital and treated for the injuries he sustained to his buttocks.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/220.jpg?w=576&h=1024

While studies show that relieving your bowels in the squatting position is actually better for you (squat-style toilets can even be found in some eastern countries, including China and Japan), you might want to learn a lesson from this man and refrain from trying to squat atop toilets meant for sitting.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/318.jpg?w=580

After all, you wouldn’t want to become the butt of all toilet-humor now, now would you?

Source: Yahoo!Japan News via Toychan Net
Images: Ifeng Talk via Toychan Net


That sign is AWESOME.

[curenado]

Sorry Gene - I thought the reply looked weird and when I hit the button....sorry

I only wanted to say I had never looked at this thread and except for that great sign, which I snatch, I'm otherwise glad I haven't. I did not need to know
9409

Terrible about the poor kids.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGAQgQVwy-M

[GeneChing]

...this is really messed up.



This public toilet in China may be haunted… by a love doll? (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/05/12/this-public-toilet-in-china-may-be-haunted-by-a-love-doll/)
Mike
15 hours ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/sexdoll1.jpg?w=580&h=376

Even in relatively clean Japan, public toilets are a special kind of gross. The kind of place where people go to, obviously, relieve themselves, but all too often to show off their artistic skills (or lack thereof) with graffiti, wipe snot on the wall, and have the occasional illicit encounter.

But in one particular public toilet in China, something especially nefarious must have happened, because this Zengzhou, Henan Province bathroom appears to be haunted by the discarded remains of a partially deflated sex doll.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/screenhunter_144-may-10-11-58.jpg?w=580&h=447

The dead-eyed harlot, which appears to be of the – and we use this term loosely – “realistic” variety, with moving, doll-like eyelids, was found abandoned next to a red bag (we’ll get to that shortly) in a small, unisex, private bathroom built on what appears to be some kind of park grounds.

Eventually the deflated doll was discovered by a steel-willed cameraman, who stuck around to film – instead of doing the rational thing and running away from the noxious sex fumes and possible lost souls of sex dolls past floating in the air.

While the cameraman filmed, several others attempted to use the restroom to hilarious results. Eventually, the police or park services appear to show up, and an especially brave official just wades in with bare hands to clean up the mess – appropriately burning the haunted doll so it couldn’t rise again, before reaching into that red bag we mentioned earlier and finding… a bunch of other sex toys including a giant, floppy *****, which the same official just manhandles bare-handed like he does this all the time.

We presume the rookie on the team is just off-camera, vomiting from the horror of it all.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/screenhunter_143-may-10-11-57.jpg?w=580&h=448
https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/screenhunter_145-may-10-11-59.jpg?w=580&h=448
https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/screenhunter_146-may-10-11-59.jpg?w=580&h=450

Screen captures: ku6.com

[GeneChing]

I was really torn about whether to post this here or here. This thread needed more luv.



Games and thrones: Chinese theme park sees surge in visitors after its giant 'castle' public toilet becomes attraction in its own right (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3060840/Games-thrones-Chinese-theme-park-sees-surge-visitors-giant-castle-public-toilet-attraction-right.html)

The 'Great Reception Hall' claims to have capacity for 2,000 people
Located at Yangren or 'Foreign' Street Theme Park in Chongqing
Have become a popular place to stop for wedding photographs

By Kate Pickles and Edward Chow For Mailonline

Published: 09:40 EST, 29 April 2015 | Updated: 10:44 EST, 29 April 2015

A Chinese theme park is attracting more visitors than ever after people got wind of its giant public toilets.

The Yangren Street Theme Park, which already boasts a miniature New York City and a replica of Brazil's Christ the Redeemer, has now added Chongqing's 'most incredible toilets' to its list of attractions.

'The Golden Reception Hall' which covers an incredible 40,000 square metres and has a capacity for 2,000 people, has become a talking point after it was picked up by internet users, the People's Daily Online reports.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/29/15/2821B3AC00000578-3060840-image-a-71_1430316542494.jpg
Games and thrones: A theme park has become an online hit after word got out about its giant public convenience

Its castle-like appearance has even led to it becoming a popular backdrop for wedding photography.

The facility has no windows, although park bosses claim it has lots of space and is naturally well ventilated.

It sits on the edge of the Yangren or 'Foreigner' Street theme park, which is spread over 3.5 square kilometres and opened in 2006.

The park, which is free to enter with people paying for individual rides, was inspired by the growing foreign population in Chongqing.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/29/15/2821B38700000578-3060840-image-a-77_1430317201415.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/29/15/2821B3F500000578-3060840-image-a-76_1430317201374.jpg
No queues: There are so many loos at this theme park, people never need queue to use the toilet

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/29/15/2821B3ED00000578-3060840-image-a-73_1430317147171.jpg
Light and airy: The toilets, which are said to have a capacity for 2,000 people, are said to be naturally airy

In addition to the replicas of famous landmarks, there are bumper cars, a haunted house and a number of theme park rides and restaurants.

One person said he was relieved to discover it was a public loo and would have thought it was a castle otherwise.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/29/15/2821B3BD00000578-3060840-image-m-79_1430317233929.jpg
Grand designs: A visitor stops to take a photograph of The Golden Reception Hall at the theme park in China

[GeneChing]

But like checking out a car accident, I just cannot resist.



Holy crap! Guy caught eating poop in ladies’ toilet (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/05/20/holy-crap-guy-caught-eating-poop-in-ladies-toilet/)
Jessica
yesterday

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/poop.jpg?w=580&h=290

Hold on to your lunch, guys, this story is pretty nauseating. A young man in Guangdong Province was caught in the act of eating feces out of a toilet in a public restroom.

According to Chinese media reports, a female reporter was informed by a local citizen that there was a man in a particular public toilet who “ate poop.” When the reporter went to investigate, she indeed found a young man with his head in the bowl of a toilet vigorously munching on something.

Freaked out, the reporter ran outside, but waited to speak with the man when he emerged. She asked him what he had been doing, and he replied, “I was eating poop.” He further claimed that women’s poop was “more delicious” than men’s.

▼ Anybody else think this looks suspiciously like Taylor Lautner?
https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/2015-05-13-190400.jpg?w=580&h=421

Locals say that the man had recently moved to the neighborhood, but had been caught doing the same thing at a public toilet near his previous residence too. They said the man was known in the area and that the locals and people who used the public toilet were all afraid of him.

It’s not known what happened to the man after his encounter with the reporter, but mental health experts have pointed out that his strange behavior may be due to some untreated mental or emotional issue.

Hmm. I believe the appropriate expression is “No ****, Sherlock.”

[Jimbo]

Don't they flush their ****?

[GeneChing]

A lot of the public restrooms are just outhouses - honey pot style - and woe to anyone who happens to pass by the cleaning wagons.

Meanwhile, here's this:


Chinese man dresses up as woman to spy in bathrooms, has no idea what women look like (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/05/24/chinese-man-dresses-up-as-woman-to-spy-in-bathrooms-has-no-idea-what-women-look-like/)
Scott Wilson
3 days ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/peeping-tom-top.png?w=580&h=400

It’s getting harder and harder to be a Peeping Tom. With anti-chikan policies and people becoming more vigilant at younger ages, they have to get creative if they’re going to get their illegal jollies.

But sometimes it’s possible to get a little too creative. One man in China dressed up as a woman so he could sneak peeks in women’s restrooms. But based on the costume he chose, it’s not entirely clear if he’s ever actually seen a woman before in his life.

The incident occurred at Tengzhou City in Shandong Province, eastern China. Someone called the police reporting “a strange ‘woman’ who was inside local library’s toilet in very strange clothes and looking at others in a small mirror.”

The police responded, entering the women’s restroom and catching the dressed-up man in the act. This, it is reported, is who they found:

▼ Well, I mean, that’s certainly a little off but not so bad for a-

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/peeping-tom-01.jpg?w=580&h=730

▼ All right, I spoke too soon. He probably based his costume on the horrible angles of women he’s spied on in his mirror.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/peeping-tom-02.jpg?w=580&h=833

According to police reports, the suspect was wearing “thick makeup, a pearl necklace, long, white gloves, and red high heels.” He was taken to the police station where he admitted to spying on women in the bathroom not only this most recent time, but also several other times during the past five months.

Japanese netizens had a lot to comment on this, with many admitting to being impressed by the man despite the vulgar nature of his crime:

“His costume actually isn’t bad. If he’d been a bit more modest with the chest, it might’ve worked.”
“Yeah, but instead he ended up as the definition of trying too hard.”
“He tried so hard he came back around full circle.”
“What’s under the shirt anyway? Actual watermelons?”
“It’s like he just pieced together things that he’s seen on different women before.”
“I’m impressed, China. I would’ve expected this level of mania from Japan only.”
“The perfect embodiment of a pervert. We salute you!”

Well, at least we’ve come out of this having learned something: bonding over peeping in bathrooms is the solution to international conflicts in Asia. Who knew?

Source: Xinhuaxia News via Kinisoku
Images: Xinhuaxia News

[GeneChing]

Beijing Boasts More Public Toilets than Other Chinese Cities (http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/05/27/2361s880537.htm)
2015-05-27 18:02:00 Xinhua Web Editor: Wang Wei

http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2015/05/27/38e9172ea15d4db5b5ed3fdcc56879f7.jpg
A logo for public toilets. [Photo: baike.soso.com]

Beijing boasts more public toilets than any other city in China, with facilities no more than a five-minute walk away within the capital's fourth ring road.

Beijing has more than 20,000 public toilets, the most among Chinese cities, said Ji Yang, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment.

There are 20 public toilets per square kilometer within the fourth ring road and a public toilet every 500 meters inside the fifth ring road, said Ji.

The proportion of male to female public toilets in the city is 4 to 6. The public toilets have facilities for hand-washing, mirrors and special amenities for the disabled and children.

Several "toilet revolutions" have taken place in Beijing, according to the official. In 1949, Beijing had only 500 non-flush public toilets. In the 1960s, these toilets began to be converted into flush toilets.

"I have been to many cities, where it is troublesome to find a public toilet. But public toilets can be found anywhere in Beijing. It is very convenient and they are clean," said Jiang Hong, a tourist from Anhui Province.

Beijing will improve the distribution of toilet facilities and rebuild public toilets in areas where residents are displaced for construction projects, according to the commission.

Public toilets are an important symbol of advanced urban management, said Xu Wei, a professor in public policy and management at Minzu University of China.

Clean? It's been over a decade since I've been in Beijing. Things must have improved dramatically.

[GeneChing]

Shanghai is a very unique place, especially for China.


LOOK: Toilet encrusted with 72,000 Swarovski crystals on display at Shanghai expo (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/06/05/swarovski-encrusted-toilet-shanghai-expo.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/06/toiletseat-1.jpg

Oh. Dear. Lord. A toilet covered in 72,000 pieces of Swarovski crystals was showcased at the China International Kitchen & Bathroom Expo 2015 this past Wednesday in Shanghai, attracting crowds of visitors who've likely never seen a fancier ****ter in their sad, porcelain toilet-filled existence.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/06/toiletseat-2.jpg

This bedazzled toilet was created by Ginza Tanaka, a Japanese designer with an obvious taste for the finer things in life.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/06/toiletseat-3.jpg

The blinged-out bathroom throne reportedly took over a month to make and cost a grand 128,390 USD. It was specially created for those who are looking to view something "dazzling" in their washrooms.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/06/toiletseat-4.jpg

According to a saleswoman from the event, the toilet seat costs 388,000 RMB to purchase.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/06/toiletseat-5.jpg

By Lucy Liu

[Images via Tencent News]

[GeneChing]

Who is going to eat those veggies?


Shandong man grows veggie garden in toilets, using feces as fertilizer (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/07/17/shandong-man-grows-veggie-garden-toilets.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/07/rooftop-garden-1.jpg

A man in Shandong has raised eyebrows for his somewhat unconventional rooftop garden, which consists of vegetables potted in old toilets and fertilized with human feces.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/07/rooftop-garden-6.jpg

The very eco-friendly scene was spotted recently on the rooftop of building No. 21 of the Central Residence District in Heze city.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/07/rooftop-garden-5.jpg

According to NetEase, the man has made use of dozens of discarded toilets to grow various types of vegetables. He even raised some ducks in a shed that he made out of old sofas.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/07/rooftop-garden-4.jpg

Residents of the building said the owner of the garden usually uses feces straight from his own toilet as fertilizer, and the smell has become unbearable for neighbors as the weather has heated up.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/07/rooftop-garden-2.jpg

In response to complaints, building maintenance employees said the rooftop is a public space, but they've had problems communicating with the garden tender, who reportedly lives with mental illness.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/07/rooftop-garden-3.jpg

One of the residents clarified that the gardener was his mentally-disabled younger brother, and said he was willing to clean up any mess on the rooftop.

By Joyce Ng

[GeneChing]

But here's a 'WTF (http://www.martialartsmart.com/75-322.html) Japan?' for ya.



“Poo curry” restaurant now hiring interns, award-winning Tokyo University grad student applies (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2015/09/04/poo-curry-restaurant-now-hiring-interns-award-winning-tokyo-university-grad-student-applies/)
Master Blaster
33 minutes ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/toptoptop.jpg?w=580&h=354

It’s been about two weeks since Curry Shop Shimizu opened for business in the Chitose-Funabashi area of Tokyo. Considering the only dish they sell is a curry which mimics the taste of human feces, you might expect sales to have been slow.

However, not only is business booming, the demand has become too much for owner and adult film star Shimiken to keep up. As a result he put out an ad for interns to help take his poopy curry to the next level. On top of that, if you thought Curry Shop Shimizu’s fortunes couldn’t get any better, they are attracting top-tier applicants on par with the nation’s leading corporations.

Since opening, Shimiken has consistently sold out of toilet bowls filled with his bitter brown cream as customers continue to flock to Curry Shop Shimizu. This is of course great news for the shop’s owner, but having been open for just two weeks, Shimiken must focus on paying off his initial investors before expanding, so requires the free-labor of interns rather than regular employees for the time being.

Don’t misunderstand the situation, however; although this restaurant is very much an enormous practical joke, these internships are not. Shimiken is looking for help in Curry Shop Shimizu’s Management and PR Strategy Departments, while he continues to run the day-to-day operations and serve up his special recipe.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/012.jpg?w=580&h=544

Whoever is accepted into the Management Department will have to monitor the shop’s fixed costs, expected sales, and number of visitors and find a way to maximize sales. In addition, they will be involved in the creation of projects to increase customer numbers, develop new products, and (perhaps most difficult for poop-curry) ensure repeat customers.

The intern assigned to the new PR Strategy Department, meanwhile, will have to take a good look at this marketing survey conducted prior to the opening of Curry Shop Shimizu.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/e382b0e383a9e38395trans.jpg?w=580&h=599

Their task, if they choose to accept it, is to change the minds of the 85 percent who said they would never set foot anywhere near a place that serves feces-flavored curry. By taking advantage of social networks and mass media, they must make Curry Shop Shimizu appear like a happening place that offers exciting events and a side of fun with what would surely be the worst thing they have ever eaten.

▼ Moreover, it’ll be pretty hard not to have to scrub toilets at some point during this particular internship.
https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/e3818ae79abf.jpg?w=580&h=435

These are challenging tasks but these internships promise to be very hands-on and allow the interns to become deeply involvement in management and PR. Perhaps that’s why their recruitment page on Japanese recruitment site Wantedly has already attracted applicants from Japan’s top universities such as Waseda and the University of Tokyo.

One would-be poo-PR man states that as well as graduating from the University of Tokyo, he was a recipient of the school’s prestigious President Award. They also said that if given the choice between Curry Shop Shimizu and a leading brokerage to which they also applied, they’d go for the challenge and experience of marketing pooh-flavored curry.

And so, with their dark brown curry flowing into porcelain bowls like…(naw, let’s not go down that road), and Japan’s finest coming out to join the effort, it appears that the **** has truly hit the fan at Curry Shop Shimizu, and that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this place in the months to come.

Restaurant Information
Curry Shop Shimizu
カレーショップ志み津
B1-A Joy Park Chitose Funabashi, 1-1-17 Funabashi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
東京都世田谷区船橋1-1-17　ジョイパーク千歳船橋B1-A
Hours
Lunch: 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner: 6:00pm – 11:00pm
Holidays: Fridays and any day that the curry accidentally tastes good
Phone Number: Unlisted
Website: http://curryshopshimizu.com
Twitter: @unkocurryshop

Source: Wantedly via Niconico News (Japanese)
Images: Wantedly, xfs (Edited by RocketNews24)

[Jimbo]

Why, oh why?!?!

This gives another meaning to poo-poo platter.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMwa2tfwl6M

[Jimbo]

'Squatty Potty'. Lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbYWhdLO43Q&sns=em

[GeneChing]

And I always hold tight to my phone in the crapper.

Always.


****ty day for guy who drops phone into toilet, reaches to pick it up and gets stuck (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/10/20/****_man_gets_arm_stuck_in_toilet.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/****ty_day.jpg

One Zhejiang man had a seriously crappy day after his mobile phone accidentally slipped into the toilet.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/****ty_day2.jpg

Not one to simply let it go, the guy actually reached down into that hole of excrement to retrieve his precious communication device . Instead, he got his arm stuck inside the squat toilet. "****!"

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/****ty_day3.jpg

Firefighters and sewage workers had to be called in for the rescue operation which took more than an agonizing hour. Hopefully, he learned his lesson.

Reports haven't made clear if the man actually got his phone back or not. We certainly hope so.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/****ty_day4.jpg

In 2013, one poor kid got his leg stuck inside a squat toilet, leading to a 30-minute rescue by firefighters, who apparently see this kind of thing all the time.

[Images via NetEase]

[GeneChing]

Our forum censor won't allow me to post those pics because it deletes the word ****. :mad:

Well, at least I'm having a better day than that guy....so far.

[GeneChing]

Beijing unveils new cutting-edge, high-tech public toilets called '5th space' (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/11/22/beijing_unveils_new_public_toilets_fifth_space.php )

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/fifthspacebeijing-11.jpg

Beijing's new generation of high-tech public restrooms officially opened to the public this past Thursday, aiming to revamp the capital's image for having somewhat grimy public toilets.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/fifthspacebeijing-31.jpg

With the appearance of a bright convenience store, "5th space" was opened outside government offices in the city's Fangshan district. The building is complete with Wi-Fi, vending machines, ATMs, flat-screen TV sets, electric-car charging outposts and recycling bins for paper and plastic bottles.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/fifthspacebeijing-411.jpg

In addition, lounges and shower rooms are also available on-site for workers manning the building.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/fifthspacebeijing-511.jpg

An official from the Beijing Environmental Sanitation Engineering Group told reporters that the public toilets will become "the fifth space" alongside the family space, work space, leisure space and cyber space.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/fifthspacebeijing-611.jpg

The new toilets will be rolled out across Beijing in the near future in Fangshan, Tongzhou, Shunyi and Pingu districts. Other Chinese cities in line to receive some much needed high-tech toilets include Guiyang, Haikou, Kunming and Zhangjiakou.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/11/fifthspacebeijing-711.jpg

Perhaps this is what Li Jinzao, head of China's National Tourist Administration, meant when he said that there would be a "toilet revolution" across China, promising that by 2017 all toilets will boast a "three-star rating" and will be "of adequate quality, hygienic, free of charge and effectively managed."
By Lucy Liu
[Images via The Mirror]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Nov 22, 2015 11:59 PM

This thread has become an astonishing barometer of China's progress. :)

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZD4IiIzBLw

:eek:

[GeneChing]

Ouch. Harsh.


Hubei woman seriously injured after toilet at KTV 'explodes' underneath her (http://shanghaiist.com/2015/12/15/boom_goes_the_toilet.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/exploding_toilet.jpg

One evening earlier this month a woman sat down on a toilet at a local KTV in Hubei, just as her skin touched the commode, the thing exploded, sending broken shards into the lower half of her body.
The violent accident resulted in serious injuries including a 7cm cut to her genitals. Bleeding heavily, the woman was transported to a hospital in the provincial capital of Wuhan, where she underwent three hours of surgery, reports NetEase. Following 48 hours in the intensive care unit, she was finally declared out of danger.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/exploding_toilet2.jpg

According to Apple Daily, while the KTV owner has acknowledged the accident, he doesn't believe that his toilet spontaneously exploded, instead his theory is that the woman squatted on top of the commode, causing it to break and shatter. The woman has denied that she did any such thing.
Either way, the two parties have settled with the owner paying out 20,000 yuan in hospital costs. We'll have to see what kind of toilet he buys as a replacement.

[Images via NetEase]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Alex Linder in News on Dec 15, 2015 8:00 PM

[GeneChing]

While posting here on the forum can be like taking a dump, the last thing I'd want to do is surf the net while at a public toilet.


High-tech toilet in Chongqing offers insanely fast Wifi to its customers (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/01/17/chongqing_high_speed_wifi_toilets.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2016/01/chongqing-high-tech-toilet-1.jpg

A public toilet in Chongqing is now offering its users free 50 Mbps Wifi, a speed faster than what most enjoy in the comfort of their own homes.
The toilet is the first of twenty five star toilets which the local government plans to build in Chongqing's Nanan district during 2016.
In addition to the super fast Wifi, the public toilet also features a large array of phone charging ports, a refrigerator, microwave and water dispenser. Staff manning the high-tech outpost are also in possession of first aid supplies and medicines.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2016/01/chongqing-high-tech-toilet-2.jpg

Speaking to reporters from Chongqing Evening News, a local official said, "During sunny conditions the toilet is capable of generating enough electricity to power itself. Our tests indicate that the solar panels will allow us to save 2,460 yuan each year."
In recent years China has begun to spend money on rolling out a new generation of public toilets in a bid to shake off its reputation for having somewhat grimy loos. A few months ago Beijing rolled out its vision for the future of the restroom called "5th space."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Dominic Jackson in News on Jan 17, 2016 11:30 PM

[GeneChing]

10,000.00 CNY = $1,521.33 USD

How much does a cop gun cost in China anyway?


Guiyang cop loses gun down the toilet, text sent out offering 10,000 RMB for its recovery (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/02/10/cop_loses_gun_down_toilet.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/toiletrevolution-2.jpg

CNY buzz might have gotten to be too much for a police officer in Guizhou province, who managed to misplace his gun in a public toilet in Guiyang on Saturday.
Xiuwen county residents were then treated to text messages from the local government, who offered a 10,000 yuan reward for information, Sina reports.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/phone_down_toilet.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/phone_down_toilet2.jpg

Apparently the plea worked, as the missing gun was reportedly found Tuesday. However, no further details were released.
Happily, this gun-related mishap has ended with less blood than other police flubs in times past.
Friendly reminder these are the guys responsible for public security. And a happy new year to y'all.
[Images via Sina]

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Feb 10, 2016 5:30 PM

[GeneChing]

There is probably a good Cultural Revolution (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69272-The-Cultural-Revolution) pun to be made here...


China's 'toilet revolution' could see unruly users blacklisted (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11591382)
By Adam Taylor
7:14 AM Thursday Feb 18, 2016

http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/20168/GettyImages-51676600_620x310.jpg
China's bathroom facilities have long been the butt of tourists' jokes. Photo / Getty

At the start of last year, China announced a new revolution. A toilet revolution. The plan was to bring the country's bathroom facilities, long the butt of tourists' jokes, up to the standards of the international traveller. Tens of thousands of new public toilets were to be constructed, while old toilets would be renovated; all at a total cost billed at more than 12.5 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).

Yet the problem wasn't just the facilities: Authorities think that bathroom etiquette may need to be adjusted, with punishments meted out for bad behaviour. On Wednesday, China's national tourism regulator suggested that the "toilet revolution" could see those who misbehave in public bathrooms blacklisted from the facilities.

"Many people spend a lot of time dressing themselves, but they do not spare a second to flush the toilet," Li Shihong, deputy chief of the China National Tourism Administration (NTA), was quoted as saying in China Daily.

"Toilet civilisation has a long way to go in China."

A potential blacklist would target "uncivilized behavior in public conveniences," the state newspaper reports. Exactly how that would work is unclear, but the plan does sound similar to the NTA's move to publicly name and shame Chinese tourists guilty of "uncivilized behavior" while traveling outside the country. The NTA's website currently lists the names of 16 Chinese tourists who engaged in a variety of unsavory activities while abroad, including brawling on airplanes and punching store clerks.

China's public bathrooms have long proved to be an anxiety-causing destination even for seasoned expatriates. In 2005, Peter Goodman described the standard experience in a dispatch for The Washington Post:

In a public toilet - be it at the park, on a main thoroughfare, at the airport or in a train station - the air is often so foul that you limit your breathing. The smell wafts out into the surrounding neighborhood. You keep your eyes turned upward, to avoid fixing on the squalid floor. Most toilets have no toilet paper. Many lack running water. Everywhere, flushing seems optional. People with major business to attend to must typically execute it in full view of everyone else over a big gulley without privacy walls. Sit-down toilets? Rare.

Authorities in the country were aware of the problem and convened a "Toilet Association" to help address the problem. More than a decade later, things have improved, though perhaps not as much as you would hope.

New details of the construction underway in the "Toilet Revolution" suggest that remarkably ambitious changes may be afoot in China's public bathrooms. Not only will there be expected changes like Western-style toilets and deodorization technology, but a recent draft from the NTA suggests that there could be big screen televisions, free wi-fi, ATMs and sofas. It sounds luxurious - if you can get in.

- Washington Post

By Adam Taylor

[GeneChing]

...in the Washington Post, no less (same author tho)


China’s ‘toilet revolution’ could see unruly users blacklisted from public bathrooms (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/17/chinas-toilet-revolution-could-see-unruly-users-blacklisted-from-public-bathrooms/)
By Adam Taylor February 17

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_908w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2015/11/16/Health-Environment-Science/Images/2015-11-16T113627Z_01_PXP07_RTRIDSP_3_HEALTH-TOILETS-WIDERIMAGE.jpg&w=1484
Posters, including those advertising treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, are stuck to the walls of a public toilet in a residential area for migrant workers in Beijing's Shigezhuang village. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

At the start of last year, China announced a new revolution. A toilet revolution. The plan was to bring the country's bathroom facilities, long the butt of tourists' jokes, up to the standards of the international traveller. Tens of thousands of new public toilets were to be constructed, while old toilets would be renovated; all at a total cost billed at more than 12.5 billion yuan ($1.9 billion).

Yet the problem wasn't just the facilities: Authorities think that bathroom etiquette may need to be adjusted, with punishments meted out for bad behavior. On Wednesday, China's national tourism regulator suggested that the "toilet revolution" could see those who misbehave in public bathrooms blacklisted from the facilities.

"Many people spend a lot of time dressing themselves, but they do not spare a second to flush the toilet," Li Shihong, deputy chief of the China National Tourism Administration (NTA), was quoted as saying in China Daily. "Toilet civilization has a long way to go in China."

A potential blacklist would target "uncivilized behavior in public conveniences," the state newspaper reports. Exactly how that would work is unclear, but the plan does sound similar to the NTA's move to publicly name and shame Chinese tourists guilty of "uncivilized behavior" while traveling outside the country. The NTA's website currently lists the names of 16 Chinese tourists who engaged in a variety of unsavory activities while abroad, including brawling on airplanes and punching store clerks.

China's public bathrooms have long proved to be an anxiety-causing destination even for seasoned expatriates. In 2005, Peter S. Goodman described the standard experience in a dispatch for The Washington Post:

In a public toilet — be it at the park, on a main thoroughfare, at the airport or in a train station — the air is often so foul that you limit your breathing. The smell wafts out into the surrounding neighborhood. You keep your eyes turned upward, to avoid fixing on the squalid floor. Most toilets have no toilet paper. Many lack running water. Everywhere, flushing seems optional. People with major business to attend to must typically execute it in full view of everyone else over a big gulley without privacy walls. Sit-down toilets? Rare.

Authorities in the country were aware of the problem and convened a "Toilet Association" to help address the problem. More than a decade later, things have improved, though perhaps not as much as you would hope.

New details of the construction underway in the "Toilet Revolution" suggest that remarkably ambitious changes may be afoot in China's public bathrooms. Not only will there be expected changes like Western-style toilets and deodorization technology, but a recent draft from the NTA suggests that there could be big screen televisions, free wi-fi, ATMs and sofas. It sounds luxurious – if you can get in.


Adam Taylor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. Originally from London, he studied at the University of Manchester and Columbia University.

[GeneChing]

These look so nasty. Better to pee in a corner.


You can now take a **** in public in Chongqing (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/02/23/chongqing_public_urinals.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals.jpg

Obviously trying to boost its international reputation, Chongqing has followed in the footsteps of San Francisco, Sydney and London by installing a set of very open public urinals right out on the street.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_3.jpg

Happily, the monstrosities come with some degree of modesty, in the form of handy plastic panels. Nonetheless, the contraptions have prompted both scandal and curiosity from Chongqing passersby, reports People's Daily.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_2.jpg

Those with a penchant for public urination should be pleased, though.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_5.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_4.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_6.jpg

Would you give it a wiz?
By Pinky Latt
[Images via CCTV/CNR]
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Shanghaiist in News on Feb 23, 2016 2:00 PM

[GeneChing]

Because the thing that draws me to visit a country is its toilets. :rolleyes:


China to build 25,000 public toilets to boost tourism (http://www.socialnews.xyz/2016/03/china-to-build-25000-public-toilets-to-boost-tourism/)
POSTED BY: GOPI MARCH 14, 2016

Beijing, March 14 (IANS) China is set to build 25,000 new public toilets in 2016, as problems with public lavatories have become a major drawback in the country's tourism industry, the media reported on Monday.

The announcement was made by Li Jinzao, director of China National Tourism Administration during the third plenary meeting of the fourth session of China's 12th National People's Congress on Sunday, People's Daily reported.

In a “toilet revolution” launched in 2015, China has constructed and renovated over 22,000 public toilets, but they are unevenly scattered, poorly managed and in low quality.

According to Li, the “toilet revolution” will continue in order to solve problems with public toilets in three years.

“The new toilets will cover inside and outside of the tourist attractions in both urban and rural areas,” Li added.

I suppose this actually validates the underlying point I've been making with this here thread. Chinese toilets are an adventure in themselves. Perhaps this movement will make this thread become no more than a historic artifact soon. Doubtful, but it could happen.

[GeneChing]

Classy Chinese company selling luxury 'Trump Toilets' makes a splash online (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/03/17/trump_toilets.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/trump_toilet.png

If you happen to think that Donald Trump is full of ****, well, it seems fate is smiling upon you as a Chinese company selling high-end, luxurious "Trump Toilets" exists to make your bathroom experience great again.
Despite the company having no connection with Trump at all, it isn't entirely free from Trump-like language, claiming to be the FIRST company to make retractable seat protectors and also claiming that over ONE BILLION people use their products every year, in multiple countries, Foreign Policy reports.
Indeed, the weird image of a child hugging a toilet on the company's homepage coupled with weak copyright law and a lucky coincidence could make Shenzhen Trump Industries even more popular in years to come. New customers wanting to relieve themselves of Trump's verbal diarrhea atop a high-end flushing machine can even get a self-changing seat protector that comes in both blue and green. Fancy.
And for a company specializing in smart commodes for hotels, spas, hospitals and beauty centers, even its name "Chuang Pu" (创普) sounds awfully close to Trump's Chinese name, "Chuan Pu" (川普), which both fittingly sound like poo.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/trump_tiananmen.jpg

Well, if you ever want to demonstrate how ill Trump really makes you feel, just know that there's a Chinese company who might be able to relieve you.
By Kitty Lai
[Images via sztrump]

I have no words to fill my 10 character minimum post requirement. :o

[GeneChing]

There's a vid too, if you really must see more...:rolleyes:


Rescue crews help free boy who got his head stuck in a TOILET pipe (http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/528775/young-boy-gets-head-stuck-inside-plastic-water-pipe-China-funny-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daily-star-latest-news+%28Daily+Star+%3A%3A+News+Feed%29)
WHEN you get your head trapped in a plastic water pipe, you know it’s probably not going to be your day.

By George Mills / Published 8th July 2016

But that’s exactly what happened to a five-year-old boy, who managed to wedge his own head inside a piece of plastic piping while pretending to be a superhero.

The bizarre footage, recorded in China’s Zhejiang Province, documents firefighters’ attempts to free the young lad from his newly-acquired helmet.

Initially the boy seems nervous and frightened, refusing to come to terms with his new life as a plumbing accessory.

http://cdn.images.dailystar.co.uk/dynamic/1/photos/466000/620x/head-528775.jpg
SHANGHAI NEWS
WEDGED: The young boy gets his head firmly stuck inside the pipe

His parents manage to calm him down after talking to him for a few minutes, allowing rescue teams to begin the delicate process of sawing off the plastic prison.

After around half an hour, firefighters’ attempts to free the lad using a combination of power tools eventually pays off and he walks away a free man once again.

“Luckily the fireman holding the circular saw had a steady hand,” said one viewer.

http://cdn.images.dailystar.co.uk/dynamic/1/photos/468000/pipep-576468.jpg
SHANGHAI NEWS
DAMAGE: The pipe had started to make the lad's neck swell up

While the story eventually had a happy ending, it no doubt served as a cruel reminder to parents to keep an eye on the kids – especially while hunting for superhero costumes.

Earlier this year, a woman in America enjoyed a little more success in her quest to turn herself into a superhero.

Kay Pike, a make-up extraordinaire and special effects artist, transformed herself into Marvel comic book hero Deadpool – using only body paint.

[GeneChing]

I wonder if the toilets in this building look like buildings...


Netizens think this university building in Henan looks like a giant toilet (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/07/03/giant_toilet_building_henan_university.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2016/07/henan-toilet-building-1.jpg

A new building was recently opened to much fanfare at a university in Henan, but netizens and the media were quick to rain on their parade and call the building out for having more than a passing resemblance to a giant toilet.
According to Sina, the building is located at the Longzihu campus of the North China University of Water Conservancy and Electric Power. Given the name, perhaps the unique design was intentional.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2016/07/henan-toilet-building-2.jpg

Netizens had a field day and brought their sarcasm to the comment section, with many complementing the architect on his sense of humor.
"From a fengshui standpoint, the design is very auspicious. We should give it some time," said one insightful netizen.
"Yep, it's definitely a toilet," said another.
"The architect really had a sense of humor," another remarked.
Despite officially banning "weird" buildings back in February, there are still plenty of architectural gems to be found across China, whether it be the phallic shaped People's Daily headquarters or the design for the new Beijing airport which many believe looks like a certain part of the female anatomy.
Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Dominic Jackson in News on Jul 3, 2016 11:00 PM

[GeneChing]

This is the ultimate freshman hazing.


Restrooms repurposed as dormitories for students in Guizhou (http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0822/c98649-9103785.html)
(People's Daily Online) 16:39, August 22, 2016

http://en.people.cn/NMediaFile/2016/0822/FOREIGN201608221639000401951247829.jpg

The public restrooms on each floor of the dormitory are turned into sleeping quarters in No. 15 Middle School in Tongren, Guizhou province.(Photo/Beijing Youth Daily)
Students at the No. 15 Middle School in Tongren, Guizhou province lodged a formal complaint on Aug. 19 after the public restrooms on each floor of their dormitory were turned into sleeping quarters. The creative solution was necessary because the school unintentionally recruited too many freshmen.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily interviewed a concerned student on Aug. 19. The student explained that the renovation was started on Aug. 17. No one has yet moved into the "bathroom dormitories." Meanwhile, each dormitory still has its own private restroom, but the renovated public bathrooms were also heavily used in previous years.
The student told the reporter that the new dormitories are still quite smelly from when they were bathrooms. However, the school issued a notification in response, reminding students that the arrangement is temporary, and that they are there to study, not enjoy themselves. The student said that three classmates who were assigned to the renovated domitory have instead rented rooms outside the school.
From photos provided by the students, it's clear that the toilets were simply filled with cement.
A school official emphasized to the reporter that it is just a temporary arrangement. In the future, the official explained, all the students will be accomodated in a new dormitory building. However, that building is still under construction.
(Editor: Kong Defang,Bianji)

[GeneChing]

https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/windowed-bathroom-header-01-937x600.jpg

No. 2 With a View at Head-Scratching Transparent Bathroom in China (https://thenanfang.com/henan-public-restroom-features-floor-ceiling-transparent-glass-wall/)
It's all visible here, folks

Charles Liu, September 15, 2016 8:48am

With its Shiniuzhai glass walkway, Hunan Province has been at the forefront of the glass-bottomed craze that has been sweeping China’s tourist attractions. However, it seems to have gone overboard with its latest creation: a public bathroom with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall.

Online photos show a men’s restroom at the graduate students building at a university in Hunan that is otherwise well-designed except for this very revealing flaw. Not only does the huge window reveal a view of the row of urinals, but the end stall is equipped with a squat toilet that appears to be fully visible from outside.

https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/windowed-bathroom-02.jpg

Chinese people have been shocked at the design of this restroom, but some have countered that the glass wall, which does not appear to be tinted, is likely to be made out of one-way glass. If that is the case, then it begs the question: even if no one outside can see you, would you be comfortable using such a restroom?

A less-than-optimal design is also on display at a men’s restroom in Taiyuan, Shanxi which features a glass wall but has scantily-clad female mannequins on the other side. This looks to be part of the experience the restaurant is offering, but it again, does this make using the restroom easier, or does having someone stare back at you while you do your business make it… umm… awkward?

https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/windowed-bathroom-01.jpg

Function is the number one concern of design, so restrooms should be designed for number one.

We posted the scantily-clad female mannequins earlier here (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65867-Chinese-toilets&p=1282223#post1282223).

[GeneChing]

Driven around the U-bend: Chinese man has his arm stuck in toilet for 'an entire night' after trying to reach his dropped phone (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/peoplesdaily/article-3792454/Chinese-man-arm-stuck-toilet-entire-night-trying-reach-dropped-phone.html)

The man lives alone in Huizhou, southern China's Guangdong province
He says he woke up at 2am and dropped his mobile phone down the toilet
His hand then became stuck in the toilet and he was left trapped
The man shouted for hours until a neighbour heard him and called for help
Firefighters later managed to break the toilet and free him

By SOPHIE WILLIAMS FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 04:54 EST, 16 September 2016 | UPDATED: 05:08 EST, 16 September 2016

A man in China spent an entire night with his arm stuck in a squat toilet after trying to reach for his phone on September 14.

The man who lives alone in Huizhou, Guangdong province， spent hours calling for help until a neighbour heard him and called for firefighters, reports the People's Daily Online.

Firefighters had to break open the toilet and free his arm.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/16/11/386DCD0000000578-3792454-Ouch_When_firefighters_arrived_at_the_scene_they_f ound_the_man_w-m-20_1474020366140.jpg
Ouch: When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the man with his hand down the toilet

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the man with his hand jammed down the toilet.

He was unable to move.

According to reports, the man had woken up and gone to the toilet at 2am and suddenly became stuck.

He had been shouting for help and it was only when one of his neighbours heard his shouts at 5am, that firefighters were eventually called.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/16/11/386DCD1400000578-3792454-Stuck_for_hours_He_had_been_shouting_for_hours_unt il_a_neighbour-m-21_1474020374784.jpg
Stuck for hours: He had been shouting for hours until a neighbour called firefighters

Firefighters eventually freed him by breaking the toilet and pulling his arm out.

People have been discussing the man's story on social media site Weibo.

One user wrote: 'The most feared happened. The toilet man was reaching there all night.'

While another commented: 'You're a single man. Take care of yourself.'

And one user said: 'I'm always worried about this problem.Take good care.'

According to reports, the number of people having to be rescued after getting their arm stuck in the toilet is increasing.

A member of the fire brigade told reporters that because the toilets are ceramic, it's much easier to get your hand in and extremely difficult to remove it.

Firefighters say that unless you can use grabbing tools to get hold of the lost object, it's best to ask for professional help.






Cell phones just aren't worth this. Not even an iPhone7. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

I thought this was the previously mentioned glass toilet at a Hunan University (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65867-Chinese-toilets&p=1296200#post1296200), but from the pix, it looks different. Maybe it's the same one. Y'all tell me.


Glass Bathroom Turns Tourists into Peep Show Attraction (https://thenanfang.com/glass-bathroom-turns-tourists-main-attraction/)
It's almost just like ****ing in the wind

https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-06-903x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-01-890x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-04-900x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-07-900x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-02-915x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-05-901x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-08-821x600.jpg
https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/glass-bathroom-09-801x600.jpg

Glass is the hottest trend right now in the Chinese tourism industry, seen everywhere from glass bridges to glass-bottomed walkways. But while those facilities give visitors another perspective to China’s breathtaking scenery, a new tourist attraction in Hunan allows tourists to peep at each other in a newly installed glass bathroom.

The public bathrooms at Shiyan Lake near Changsha are made entirely of glass, allowing very clear views into a bathroom cubical. And if you’re wondering how the restrooms are divided for each gender, the answer is again a pane of glass. That means men and women can peep at each other easily.

A public bathroom at a university in Hunan attracted attention earlier this month with its own window, giving everyone outside a clear view. However, where that may have been a design flaw, Shiyan Lake has purposely designed this voyeur’s delight as a way to attract visitors.

Previous promotions to drum up attention at Shiyan Lake includes last year’s yoga and dance performance held on the water’s surface (shown below).

https://thenanfang.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/shiyan-lake-01.jpg

With glass so popular among Chinese tourist sites right now, it’s likely that the Shiyan Lake glass restroom will draw curious crowds of onlookers.

Source: Sina Guangdong, Sina Hunan, YNet, Dahua Net
Photos: Yunnan, Zhonghuilv, Yesky


Charles Liu
The Nanfang's Senior Editor

[GeneChing]

Man, I've been just taking the soap, shampoo and conditioner...:p


Japanese hotel chain that had toilet seat taken ‘still welcomes’ Chinese guests (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2038649/japanese-hotel-chain-which-had-toilet-seat-taken-still-welcomes)
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 20 October, 2016, 3:29pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 20 October, 2016, 4:53pm
Jane Li
Summer Zhen

http://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/10/20/dd80b55e-95c4-11e6-89e7-0e47003bc2df_1280x720.jpg

A Japanese hotel that had a toilet seat taken by two Chinese tourists, says it still welcomes Chinese guests but is considering posting notices to explain any unusual situations.
“We will still welcome Chinese tourists as always even after this incident,” a spokeswoman for the Toyoko Inn hotel chain told the South China Morning Post.
She confirmed one of the chain’s hotels had contacted the guide of a Chinese tour group after discovering the toilet seat missing on Tuesday morning.
“There are small things in the hotels that have been taken before by tourists, but it is rare to see such huge objects taken,” she said.
The news went viral after Chinese media reported the incident and sparked a hunt for the identity of the couple, who later apologised and returned the toilet seat by mail.
Chinese tourists apologise after taking toilet seat from Japanese hotel room
The spokeswoman said the toilet seat was a new one stored under the bed as the hotel was being renovated, and the hotel would consider posting notices in the future in a similar situation.
The Ningbo Travel Bureau issued a statement on their official Weibo account on Thursday morning, saying they had contacted the tour agency involved, Spring Tour’s Ningbo branch, to investigate the incident.
The statement said the bureau would enhance “education before travelling” for tourists and urged outbound tour groups to include a a supervisor to ensure “civilised” behaviour from tourists.
A manager from Spring Tour said the couple from Taizhou, a city in eastern Zhejiang province, were travelling with their five-year-old child, the Qianjiang Evening News reported.
The couple discovered the toilet seat under their beds when trying to put the beds together, the manager was quoted as saying.
The couple put the seat in their luggage, thinking it must have been left by a previous visitor and was unwanted, the report said.

[GeneChing]

Two things interest me about this particular bit of news.
#1 I didn't realize that gender neutral bathrooms were an issue in China.
#2 World Toilet Day is a thing. How does one celebrate that?


Shanghai's first gender-neutral public bathroom opens next month in Pudong (http://shanghaiist.com/2016/10/26/shanghai_unisex_bathroom.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON OCT 26, 2016 8:00 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/shanghai_unisex_bathroom.jpg

Shanghai's first gender-neutral public bathroom will open next month, just in time to help celebrate World Toilet Day on November 19th.
The 100 square meter facility is located at the intersection of Pudong South Road and Zhangjiabang Road in Pudong. Inside, there are ten stalls, along with one separate room for urinals and another separate room for people with disabilities or parents with small children.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/shanghai_unisex_bathroom2.jpg

Back in June, in an historic effort to make people of all genders feel less nervous about entering public toilets in China, Beijing initiated a campaign to promote gender-neutral bathrooms starting at the city's bar.
This time around, officials' motives seem a bit less noble. One official said that the city's public sanitation authority wasn't sure who would use the bathroom more men or women, so they just decided to make it unisex, the Global Times reports.
In addition, the gender-neutral public toilet is also about improving efficiency. Most of the time, women are stuck waiting in longer lines for available stalls when compared with men. This new facility will help to even things out.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/shanghai_unisex_bathroom3.jpg

Officials say that people's privacy and safety are of their utmost concern and workers will closely watch over the place to make sure that nothing goes wrong, though hopefully not too closely.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/shanghai_unisex_bathroom4.jpg

We're just glad that China hasn't decided to combine unisex and transparent bathrooms yet.

[GeneChing]

Japanese toilets.


We celebrate “Toilet Day” in Japan with a visit to a public toilet worth 100 million yen (http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/11/12/we-celebrate-toilet-day-in-japan-with-a-visit-to-a-public-toilet-worth-100-million-yen/)
Oona McGee 3 hours ago

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/17.jpg

With lavishly decorated gold-painted ceilings, a flowing brook and a Japanese style bridge, this is one of the most stylish places to do your business in Japan.

In Japan, the 10th of November is known as “Elevator Day”, “Water Well Day”, and, according to the Japan Toilet Association, “Toilet Day”. This homage to the lavatory first came about in 1986 after a creative interpretation of the numbers 10 (“to”) and 11, (which looks like “ii”), came close to resembling “toire“, the Japanese word for toilet. Now, thirty years later, with people still unsure of how to celebrate such a strange occasion, our Japanese-language reporter decided to mark the day in the best way he knew how: with a visit to one of the country’s most luxurious bathrooms.

With a full bladder, our reporter headed off to Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, where the toilet can be found inside Meguro Gajoen, a hotel and ceremony hall built in 1931 as the country’s first-ever wedding complex. This venue is known for being so luxurious that it was often compared to the mythical Palace of the Sea God back in the Showa Era (1926 – 1989), and today an original room that houses the Hyakudan Kaidan (100-step staircase) is so revered it’s been registered as a Tangible Cultural Asset of Tokyo. The complex still has an esteemed reputation, well-known throughout Japan for its luxurious hotel rooms, gorgeous Japanese-style interiors, and its incredible public restrooms, which were built at a jaw-dropping cost of 100 million yen (US$935,322).

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/27.jpg

With such a glorious history behind it, and a mind-blowing price tag on its restrooms, there’s no better place to make a splash in honour of the day of the toilet. After entering the complex, the large glass walls inside look out onto a number of beautifully manicured inner gardens, with Japanese stone lanterns and red-clothed seating instantly transporting visitors to a high-class version of traditional Japan that conjures up images of royalty.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/35.jpg

The classy surroundings continue inside, with huge artwork on the walls making you feel like you’re in your very own museum.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/74.jpg

Feeling like a royal with a very full bladder, our reporter finally arrived at the famous million-dollar restroom. Before even stepping inside, the entrance was a sight to behold, with a dazzling golden artwork hanging above the sliding doors.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/84.jpg

The doors themselves were intricately designed, with more gold embellishments around a series of circular cut-outs and a luxurious black-and-red lacquered finish. Despite the grand appearance, anyone is free to enter and use these restrooms.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/toilet-2.jpg

Both the male and female facilities were tucked away beyond this entrance, with the ladies’ on the left and the men’s room on the right. Looking at the entrance straight-on makes it appear like a spectacular Japanese painting, with the mother-of-pearl inlays on the kimono-clad women sparkling in the middle, creating a sense of depth in the scene. We can’t help but wonder how much of the 100 million-yen budget was spent on this section alone.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/55.jpg

Stepping inside the bathroom was like stepping back in time to a royal compound in old Japan. The traditional eaves gave the area a sense of being outdoors, while the low ceiling glistened with squares of gold-painted art, creating a bright environment. To top it all off, the final journey from entryway to latrine was made over a beautiful bridge that arched over a babbling brook! By this stage, our Japanese reporter was desperate to empty his bladder, but he couldn’t help staring in awe at the bathroom scenery first. This was the perfect way to celebrate Toilet Day.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/65.jpg

Over in the ladies’ room, where our female reporter paid respects to Toilet Day, things were a lot busier. The women’s and men’s areas were separated by the low wall in the middle, and this section had elegant private booth areas for touching up makeup.

https://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/toilet.jpg

While the restroom area itself was breathtakingly impressive, our Japanese reporter was relieved to find that the toilets inside weren’t dripping with gold embellishments, which would have made it impossible to do his business. Instead, they were high-quality Japanese-style toilets, and the stalls were incredibly clean and spacious.

Visiting the elegant restroom was a surprisingly memorable experience and one that everyone should definitely try at least once! If you’re in Japan and you missed national Toilet Day, there’s another chance to pay your respects to the throne, with World Toilet Day coming up on 19 November. Now you know where to celebrate the momentous occasion!

Site information
Meguro Gajoen / 目黒雅叙園
Address: Tokyo-to, Meguro-ku, Shimomeguro 1-8-1
東京都目黒区下目黒1-8-1
Website

Photos ©RocketNews24

Looks like a lovely place to poop.

[GeneChing]

Now here's a title that would fatten up anyone's resume. Anyone know what the proper Mandarin term for 'toilet chief' is?


Chinese city to appoint ‘toilet chiefs’ (https://www.socialnews.xyz/2017/01/08/chinese-city-to-appoint-toilet-chiefs/)
POSTED BY: GOPI JANUARY 8, 2017

https://placeholdit.imgix.net/~text?txtsize=50&bg=ffffff&txtclr=dd0000&txt=Chinese+city+to+appoint+%27toilet+chiefs%27&w=720&h=360&fm=png

Xi'an (China), Jan 8 (IANS) Chinese city Xi'an, one of the most popular tourist destinations inn the country, will appoint "toilet chiefs."

The city in the northwest of the country is also planning to make the public toilets free of charge, Xinhua news agency reported.

The city aims to make all public toilets and those in restaurants and entertainment venues meet national standards in terms of sufficient numbers, and cleanliness, the state-controlled news agency said.

The city will attempt to contract management of toilets to private enterprises and individuals, with cleaning companies maintaining toilets more professionally.

The condition of toilets will be included in the assessment of tourist attractions and restaurants.

China is in the midst of a three-year "toilet revolution," building 33,500 new toilets and renovating 25,000 by 2017.

[GeneChing]

Okay, another Mandarin (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?37972-Learning-Mandarin) question: How do you say 'urinal' in Mandarin?


Xi'an university installs 'female urinals' to save water (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/01/13/female_urinals.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON JAN 13, 2017 12:45 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/female_urinals2.jpg

We knew that China was having water conservation problems, but we never realized it had become this bad.
Photos have gone viral on Chinese social media of a women's bathroom at a Xi'an university where authorities have taken a rather drastic step to save water by installing "female urinals."

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/female_urinals.jpg

Despite the branding, these "female urinals" appear to be exactly the same as the kind you'd typically find in a men's restroom. According to the ads posted above each one, the urinals will help save 160 tons of water every day.
In case you're wondering how exactly these "female urinals" work... behold, the wonders of modern technology!

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/female_urinals3.jpeg

"Sure, you're saving water, but aren't you wasting paper?" Chinese netizens laughed.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/female_urinals5.jpeg

We hope that these female urinals do the trick in solving northern China's water shortage issues. If not, then outdoor female urinals may soon be on the way.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_5.jpg

[Images via Guangdong News]

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NxprNuFoJc

[GeneChing]

This is one of those 'don't rescue me - just kill me' moments


Drunk man falls into a toilet ditch and gets knocked out before being rescued by firefighters
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4140108/Drunk-man-falls-toilet-ditch-gets-knocked-out.html?ITO=applenews)
A man was found unconscious in a toilet ditch in north China's Inner Mongolia
Firefighters and paramedics donning facemasks arrived the scene to rescue
Toilet ditches are common in rural areas of China with no toilet paper or lights

By Tiffany Lo For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 11:50 EST, 20 January 2017 | UPDATED: 13:19 EST, 20 January 2017

Video footage shows the moment a man was rescued after falling into a toilet ditch in northern China.

The unfortunate incident occurred in Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia.

The man, allegedly drunk, was found unconscious in a toilet pit and sent to hospital in an ambulance following his rescue.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/20/14/3C51EFB200000578-4140108-Firefighters_placed_a_rope_around_the_man_s_body_a nd_dragged_him-a-36_1484921538546.jpg
Firefighters placed a rope around the man's body and dragged him out of the toilet ditch

It's unclear as to how long the man had been in the ditch for.

The video posted on Chinese website Ylread showed a team of seven firefighters looking into the lavatory and searching for the man.

The lavatory did not have any lights and were narrow inside.

Wearing masks and a head torch, firefighters used a rope to conduct the rescue.

The firefighters secured the man by placing a rope around his body.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/20/14/3C51EFBE00000578-4140108-The_man_was_knocked_out_after_falling_into_a_toile t_ditch_in_a_t-a-37_1484921546800.jpg
The man was knocked out after falling into a toilet ditch in a tiny brick lavatory in Hohhot city

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/20/14/3C51EFAE00000578-4140108-Firefighters_managed_to_drag_the_man_out_and_two_t hird_of_his_bo-a-38_1484921554642.jpg
Firefighters managed to drag the man out and two-third of his body was covered in faeces

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/01/20/14/3C51EFA600000578-4140108-Firefighters_wrapped_him_in_a_blanket_to_cover_the _off_putting_s-a-39_1484921562191.jpg
Firefighters wrapped him in a blanket to cover the off-putting stench from the stools

According to reports, the allegedly drunk man fell down the pit and was believed to have been knocked unconscious.

He failed to respond when firefighters shook him.

They pulled him to the side and dragged him out of the ditch slowly.

The whole rescue lasted an hour.

A team of at least seven firefighters were required to help lift the man out of the ditch. Paramedics and a doctor were on standby.

The unconscious man was covered in feces and was carried onto stretcher and examined by the doctor.

It is unclear if the man has suffered any injuries.

[GeneChing]

More on Trump toilets (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65867-Chinese-toilets&p=1292057#post1292057)


Production of Trump toilets hits sudden clog in China after President wins key battle in fight to trademark his OWN name in the country (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4227418/President-Trump-clogs-China-s-production-Trump-toilets.html?ITO=applenews)

There are currently over 225 products sold in China with the 'Trump' trademark that he has no association with and does not profit from
That is because the Chinese court did not deem him to be a person of enough fame or note to warrant having trademark rights to his name
This appears to have changed just before the election, and in September he was allowed to trademark construction services with the 'Trump' name
He previously lost his bid to do this in 2006 when Chinese citizen Dong Wei filed his application for the name two weeks prior
The makers of the Trump toilet, which can administer pregnancy tests, said they will fight Trump in court if he tries to get them to remove the trademark
Some are arguing that this is a clear example of President Trump profiting from his job, but a lawyer for the Trump organization dismissed that claim

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com
PUBLISHED: 09:14 EST, 15 February 2017 | UPDATED: 15:41 EST, 15 February 2017

President Donald Trump has gotten one step closer to flushing a line of toilets that are being sold in his name down the drain.

The toilets are just one of the over 225 products that have been made and marketed in China over the past decade with the 'Trump' trademark, even though the President has no involvement with the companies and does not want to be associated with the goods.

He also gets no money from the sales of these Trump-branded products, which range from condoms and pacemakers to pesticides and anti-aging creams as well as the aforementioned toilets, which can administer home pregnancy tests.

President Trump scored a key victory back in September however when a judge ruled that he could use the 'Trump' trademark on construction services 10 years after the court rejected his initial bid because a Chinese citizen by the name of Dong Wei had filed his application two weeks prior.

The decision ultimately boiled down to who had requested to use the 'Trump' trademark first because the court did not believe there was enough evidence to prove that President Trump was a famous or noteworthy person.

In his new role as the leader of the free world however, President Trump has been deemed famous enough by the court to trademark his name.

Scroll down for video

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/15/14/3D3E86FD00000578-4227418-Aces_President_Trump_above_on_Feberuary_3_at_the_W hite_House_may-m-14_1487167851265.jpg
Number one: President Trump (above on Feberuary 3 at the White House) may soon receive the trademark rights to his own name in China after a 10-year battle

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/15/14/3D317C8F00000578-4227418-image-a-11_1487167438746.jpg
Take a seat: There are currently over 225 products being sold in China with the 'Trump' trademark that he has no association with and does not profit from (Zhong Jiye, a co-founder of Shenzhen Trump Industrial Co., with a Trump toilet on Monday)

Unitalen Attorneys at Law has represented Trump in his Chinese trademark case for the past decade, during which time he has filed over 125 applications in hopes of putting his name on things like golf clubs, construction equipment, and software.

President Trump filed 34 of these applications just last year according to The Washington Post.

Of the applications he had filed, 77 of the trademarks have been approved, though many of those will soon be up for renewal.

President Trump should now be able to get through the other 49 trademark applications he has filed in the past two tears which are pending, while also shutting down the production of goods that carry his trademark but have no association with his business.

And that means more profit for the Trump Organization in the burgeoning Chinese market.

The makers of Trump-branded luxury toilets are ready to fight back though and defend their right to continue making their high-tech waste receptacles while using the last name of the American commander-in-chief.

Zhong Jiye, one of the co-founders of the company, said that the toilets nothing to do with President Trump and that the reason they chose the name is that the 'U' makes a nice toilet-seat shaped logo.

He previously told NBC News: 'If Mr. Trump thinks our trademark violates his rights and interests, he can use legal methods because our company observes China's laws.'

Jiye also took some time to speak about the innovation and popularity of the product, pointing out that in addition to the pregnancy tests on their home toilets there are also disposable seat covers and other hi-tech features on their public toilets.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/15/14/3D31820500000578-4227418-image-a-12_1487167445030.jpg
Close the lid: The makers of the Trump toilet (banners advertising above), which can administer pregnancy tests, said they will fight Trump in court if he tries to get them to remove the trademark

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/15/14/3D317CA200000578-4227418-image-a-13_1487167452959.jpg
Flushing it all away: Some are arguing that this is a clear example of President Trump profiting from his job, but a lawyer for the Trump organization dismissed that claim (the Trump locgo on the toilet above)

President Trump reportedly spent hundreds-of-thousands of dollars over the course of his lengthy court battle, stating at one point in 2011 that 'it appears the only two places in the world I am not well known are' China and [the country's Southern administrative region] Macau.'

It will all be worth it though come Tuesday when the court invalidates Dong Wei's trademark for construction services, giving President Trump the green light to move forward with the usage of his name on those goods.

This has led to some concern however by those who see this as an clear example of President Trump profiting from his position.

'There can be no question that it is a terrible idea for Donald Trump to be accepting the registration of these valuable property rights from China while he’s a sitting president of the United States,' said Norman Eisen, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for President Barack Obama.

'It’s fair to conclude that this is an effort to influence Mr. Trump that is relatively inexpensive for the Chinese, potentially very valuable to him, but it could be very costly for the United States.'

Alan Garten, chief legal officer of The Trump Organization, dismissed that claims however and pointed out that the trademarks were already in the works before the election.

He also noted that President Trump had given control of his company to sons Donald Jr. and Eric just before he took office.

China thanks Trump for supporting 'One China' during Xi call

[GeneChing]

...when you gotta steal toilet paper from the Temple of Heaven.


Locals exposed stealing toilet paper from public bathrooms at the Temple of Heaven (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/03/03/toilet_paper_snatchers.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON MAR 3, 2017 1:30 AM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper.jpg

Ever wonder why you so rarely find free toilet paper offered inside public bathrooms in China? Well, it's because of people like these.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper5.jpg

An investigative Beijing Evening News reporter recently went deep undercover to expose the hoodlums who have been making off with rolls and rolls of toilet paper from the bathrooms at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper2.jpg

As far as Chinese public toilets go, the ones at the Temple of Heaven are top-notch, receiving a sterling four-star rating from the Beijing Tourism Administration. In order to help out clueless tourists visiting China for the first time, they also come stocked with free toilet paper.
Locals have been taking full advantage of this fact, making multiple visits each day to stuff their shopping bags with as much precious paper as they possibly can.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper3.jpg

Staked out inside one bathroom, the reporter watched as one woman made three trips to the toilet in just half an hour, snatching up long strands of toilet paper each time.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper4.jpg

The reporter also tailed one middle age man as he made for the exit with his haul.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper6.jpg

This is why we can't have nice things!
[Images via Beijing Evening News]

[GeneChing]

Guy proposes marriage on the street, gets brutally rejected because he doesn't own a toilet (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/03/06/no_toilet_no_marriage.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON MAR 6, 2017 6:30 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/no_toilet_no_marriage.jpg

In China, it's often said that you need a salary, an apartment and a car before getting married. What goes unsaid is that you also need a toilet.
Over the weekend, a video went viral on Chinese social media showing the moment that one Nanning man had his matrimonial dreams unceremoniously flushed in public.
"Your place doesn't even have a toilet, or a bath. You're asking me to marry you? That's a laugh!" a woman is heard screaming at a man on the street. With no way to respond, the man picks up his bag and leaves without a word.
Unfortunately for him, the painful moment was caught on camera by a number of onlookers. Watch the video below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi7t006Qd10

According to the latest figures, there are 33.59 million more men than women in China, a disparity that has given a number of poor guys a harsh lesson in supply and demand. Last week, People's Daily published the results of an investigation which found that the average price for a bride in some provinces in China has skyrocketed to as much as 200,000 yuan, noting that "The poorer the place, the higher the bride price."
[Video via Tencent]

This seems reasonable to me.

[GeneChing]

For the record, I don't think 2 feet of toilet paper would be enough for a good bout of Mao's revenge. :o


Using technology, China ramps up its 'toilet revolution'
By ZHANG WEIQUN Associated Press APRIL 3, 2017 — 12:20AM
NG HAN GUAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

http://stmedia.stimg.co/1491181684_10018121+China+Toilet+Revolution.JPG?w= 525
In this photo taken Tuesday, March 21, 2017, a man bends his knees to allow a toilet paper dispensing machine to scan his face at a toilet in the Temple of Heaven park in Beijing, China. At Beijing's 600-year-old Temple of Heaven, administrators recognized the need to stock the public bathrooms with toilet paper, a requirement for obtaining a top rating from the National Tourism Authority. But they needed a means of preventing patrons from stripping them bare for personal use - hence the introduction of new technology that dispenses just one 60-centimeter (2-foot) section of paper every nine minutes following a face scan.

BEIJING — Fed up with the theft of toilet paper from public bathrooms, tourist authorities in China's capital have begun using facial recognition technology to limit how much paper a person can take.

The unusual move — part of a "toilet revolution" — is another step in China's vast upgrading of public facilities.

Bathrooms at tourist sites, notorious for their primitive conditions and nasty odors, are a special focus of the campaign, a response to a vast expansion in domestic travel and demands for better-quality facilities from a more affluent public.

"Today in China, people are highly enthusiastic about tourism, and we have entered a new era of public tourism," said Zhan Dongmei, a researcher with the China Tourism Academy. "The expectation of the public for the toilet is becoming higher."

At Beijing's 600-year-old Temple of Heaven, administrators recognized the need to stock the public bathrooms with toilet paper, a requirement for obtaining a top rating from the National Tourism Authority. But they needed a means of preventing patrons from stripping them bare for personal use — hence the introduction of new technology that dispenses just one 60-centimeter (2-foot) section of paper every nine minutes following a face scan.

"People take away the paper mostly because they are worried they can't find any when they want to use it the next time. But if we can provide it in every toilet, most people will not do it anymore," Zhan said.

http://stmedia.startribune.com/images/1491181743_10018121+China+Toilet+RevolutionA.JPG
In this photo taken Wednesday, March 29, 2017, a man walks out from a ladybird shaped public toilet in Beijing, China. Launched two years ago, a "toilet revolution" campaign calls for at least 34,000 new public bathrooms to be constructed in Beijing and 23,000 renovated by the end of this year. Authorities are also encouraging the installation of Western-style sit-down commodes rather than the more common squat toilets. Around 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) has already been spent on the program, according to the National Tourism Administration.

NG HAN GUAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo taken Wednesday, March 29, 2017, a man walks out from a ladybird shaped public toilet in Beijing, China. Launched two years ago, a "toilet revolution" campaign calls for at least 34,000 new public bathrooms to be constructed in Beijing and 23,000 renovated by the end of this year. Authorities are also encouraging the installation of Western-style sit-down commodes rather than the more common squat toilets. Around 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) has already been spent on the program, according to the National Tourism Administration.

Launched two years ago, the revolution calls for at least 34,000 new public bathrooms to be constructed in Beijing and 23,000 renovated by the end of this year. Authorities are also encouraging the installation of Western-style sit-down commodes rather than the more common squat toilets. Around 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) has already been spent on the program, according to the National Tourism Administration.

The ultimate target, Zhan said, "is to have a sufficient amount of toilets which are clean and odorless and free to use."

At Happy Valley, the largest amusement park in Beijing, around 4 million annual visitors rely on 18 bathrooms, each of which is assigned one or two cleaners who must make their rounds every 10 minutes on busy days.

"People come here to have fun, but if the toilets are disgusting, how can they have a good time here?" said Vice General Manager Li Xiangyang. "It is the least we should do to offer a clean and tidy environment for tourists to enjoy both the tour of the park and the experience of using our toilets."

Going a step further, the financial hub of Shanghai even opened its first gender-neutral public toilet in November in order to boost convenience and efficiency.

"Women are stuck waiting in longer lines for stalls than men, and it is fair for men and women to wait in line together," Shanghai resident Zhu Jingyi said after using the facility.

Zhan said the toilet revolution is about 90 percent complete, but warned that it has yet to be won.

"We can't accept the situation that a lot of investments have been made to build toilets and they turn out to be unsanitary and poorly managed," he said.

[Jimbo]

Not Chinese, but very apropos (or is that 'apropoo')?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkJy0Z2P_1k&sns=em

[GeneChing]

I always carry TP when travelling in Asia, backpacking or at music festivals. ;)


Toilet paper thieves strike again, 1500 rolls gone in just one week at Chengdu park (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/04/17/toilet_paper_theft_chengdu.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON APR 17, 2017 4:45 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/chengdu_toilet_paper.jpg

China is currently in the middle of a nationwide "toilet revolution" aimed at improving the quality and quantity of the country's infamously abysmal public toilets, but so far that revolution isn't going quite as smoothly as officials had hoped.
Over 1,500 rolls of toilet paper were snatched up in one week at Chengdu's People's Park after the city launched its own campaign in the "toilet revolution" earlier this month, providing free toilet paper and soap at public bathrooms in scenic areas around the city. That number far exceeded expectations.
It appears as though visitors are taking advantage of Chengdu's generosity by grabbing up as much of the precious paper as they can carry. A cleaner at the park told the Chengdu Business Daily that she had spotted numerous people walking out of the public bathrooms with their pockets stuffed full of toilet paper.
A park manager told reporters that this "crime spree" could end up costing the park 100,000 yuan in a year, adding that if the situation does not change in a few months then the free toilet paper will be pulled from individual stalls and only offered in the front.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/stealing_toilet_paper5.jpg

The manager speculated that the park might follow the lead of the four-star public toilets at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing which tried to wipe out rampant toilet paper theft last month by installing face recognition scanners inside bathrooms that would allocate visitors with only 60-cm long pieces of toilet paper.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/toilet_paper_stealing4.jpg

What a brave new world.
[Images via Chengdu Business Daily]

[GeneChing]

SPACE TOILETS!

2001's anti-grav toilet was prophesy. But they didn't foresee leg restraints. :eek:


NASA astronaut: Space toilet inspires 'sheer terror' (https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-astronaut-space-toilet-iss-jack-fischer-international-station/)
Forget motion sickness and adjusting to microgravity. Astronaut Jack Fischer is most worried about facing the space station's intimidating bathroom facilities.
Sci-Tech
by Amanda Kooser
April 17, 2017 9:32 AM PDT
@akooser

https://cnet4.cbsistatic.com//img//50oNjZLhNyuCD7zFa93B6kKBLXk=//2017//04//17//06f0c89b-4313-4dac-aa7c-ce02720cdd17//spacetoilet.jpg
Look upon this space toilet and tremble.
NASA

On Thursday, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer is scheduled to embark on his first voyage to the International Space Station. He's excited to be working on a variety of experiments, including ones dealing with plant growth and bone growth, but he's less than thrilled about the prospect of using the loo in microgravity.

In a NASA Q&A, Fischer reveals what he expects his greatest challenge will be. He says it's the toilet. "It's all about suction, it's really difficult, and I'm a bit terrified," Fischer says.

In case you think Fischer is exaggerating his toilet trepidation, here's NASA description of how the commode functions: "The toilet basically works like a vacuum cleaner with fans that suck air and waste into the commode." It also requires the use of leg restraints.

"Unlike most things, you just can't train for that on the ground," Fischer says, "so I approach my space-toilet activities with respect, preparation and a healthy dose of sheer terror."

[GeneChing]

Made-in-China toilet seat covers leave Western customers amazed - from ones that glow in the dark to ones that feature moving images (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/china/article-4926076/Made-China-toilet-covers-leave-Western-customers-amazed.html)
Toilet seats manufactured in Guizhou selling like hot cakes in Western nations
Locally-sourced materials such as bamboo are used to create the covers
The range includes 3D designs and a 'Magic Motion Toilet Seat' that lights up
By CLAIRE HEFFRON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 12:25 EDT, 27 September 2017 | UPDATED: 12:30 EDT, 27 September 2017

Wooden toilet seats made in southwestern China's Guizhou province are apparently selling like hot cakes in the West.

Chinese toilet seat maker Topseat is now selling more than 2 million seats annually on the Western market with 80% of those sales occurring in Germany and Switzerland, reports state newspaper People's Daily, citing a public WeChat account in Guizhou.

On its website, Topseat calls itself the 'world leader in toilet seat design, production and perfection, recognized internationally for its top quality and innovation,'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/27/16/44C8EDD500000578-4926076-image-a-33_1506527730002.jpg
This seat is convenient for people at night as its sensor lights can be put out automatically

It introduces itself by asking you to 'Imagine a toilet seat so artistic that it shows motion pictures when the lid automatically closes in slow motion.'

From its factory in Guizhou's Anshun city, the company creates its bright decorative toilet seats from locally-sourced materials such as bamboo, straw stalks and bio-glues, which they have used to create more than 5,000 unique designs.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/27/17/44C8F35700000578-4926076-image-m-48_1506528424036.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/27/17/44C8EBCE00000578-4926076-image-a-49_1506528431254.jpg
Styles to suit all tastes: Including traditional bamboo or the cosmopolitan Eiffel Tower, Paris

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/27/17/44C8F0D500000578-4926076-image-m-53_1506528486763.jpghttp://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/27/17/44C8EF0D00000578-4926076-image-a-54_1506528498473.jpg
Getting back to nature: Shoppers can choose to be in nature, with palm trees or wild animals

Consumers can buy a range of covers from popular retail sites Alibaba and Amazon.

On the Amazon website the company's products generally receive high ratings and praise from satisfied customers. 'I have never spent this much for a toilet seat and this is well worth the price,' wrote one customer.

'Quiet slow closing of lid and seat just as described. Wish we would have bought these sooner. Have had many compliments and where did you get that?' commented another.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/09/27/16/44C930A900000578-0-image-m-18_1506526330418.jpg
Satisfied customers: The company's products generally receive high ratings on Amazon

To quote Pink Floyd, "Fills me with the urge to defecate." :p

[GeneChing]

Chongqing tourist site creates 'pervert's paradise' with open-air toilets with no ceiling (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/10/05/umbrella-bathroooms.php)
BY ALEX LINDER IN NEWS ON OCT 5, 2017 7:10 PM

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/umbrella_toilets.jpg

A tourist site in Chongqing has gone viral online with Chinese netizens worrying that its open-air bathrooms might just draw in the wrong kind of crowd.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/umbrella_toilets4.jpg

The colorful, fairytale-like castle may look magical, but it appears to have run out of funds while building the bathrooms. The men's and women's stalls on the roof have walls but no ceiling, leaving them exposed to peeping Toms from the nearby hillside.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/umbrella_toilets2.jpg

Women who wanted to go to the bathroom were forced to take their umbrellas in with them to afford a bit of modesty.

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/umbrella_toilets3.jpg

Chinese netizens joked about the tourist's site "cunning" business model, wondering how much they are charging people to walk up the hill and calling the place a "pervert's paradise."

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/umbrella_toilets5.jpg

However, the city of Chongqing has always been infamous for experimenting with daring forms of toilets, including out-in-pubic urinals:

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_shanghaiist/open_urinals_5.jpg

A "five-star" tuhao toilet:

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/alexlinder/tuhao_toilet2.jpg

Another that looks like a giant camera:

http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/katienelson/camera-toilet.jpg

And even one that looks like Park Güell:

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2015/04/chongqing-gaudi-toilet-1.jpg

[Images via NetEase]

So wrong Chongqing. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

Viva la revolucion!

How do you say that in Mandarin? Guòzhe gémìng (过着革命)?


NOVEMBER 19, 2017 / 3:01 AM / A DAY AGO
China pledges another three years of 'toilet revolution' to boost tourism (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-toilet/chinapledges-another-three-years-of-toiletrevolution-to-boost-tourism-idUSKBN1DJ0D9)
Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ

BEIJING (Reuters) - China announced on Sunday plans to build and upgrade 64,000 public toilets between 2018 to 2020 as part of its “toilet revolution” aimed at boosting tourism and lifting the sector’s contribution to economic growth.

China has been keen to develop and expand services industries to move away from debt-fueled and investment-driven growth, while offseting the impact of persistently weak global demand for its exports.

Particularly, it has been looking at the emerging tourism industry, pledging late last year 2 trillion yuan ($290 billion)in investment which it hopes will help lift the sector’s contribution to annual economic growth.

While three years of “toilet revolution” have led to “significant achievements”, according to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the booming industry’s prospects are clouded by wide-spread complaints about toilet hygiene levels at China’s tourist sites.

Since 2015, China has poured 1.04 billion yuan into building and renovating 68,000 toilets, far exceeding its three-year goal of 57,000, state news agency Xinhua said.

“The toilet revolution ... is an urgent and necessary measure to transform and upgrade our tourism industry,” CNTA director Li Jinzao was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

Under the new initiative, China will have 47,000 toilets built and 17,000 existing ones refurbished in the next three years, Xinhua said.

Reporting by Yawen Chen and Tom Daly; Editing by Mark Potter

[GeneChing]

China launched a toilet-finding platform to help identify 330,000 public toilets (https://qz.com/1134600/china-launched-a-toilet-finding-platform-to-help-identify-330000-public-toilets/)

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/rtsu3jf-e1511261729700.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=3200
A view inside a toilet factory in Tangshan, Hebei province, China, November 18, 2016. Picture taken November 18, 2016. REUTERS/Elias Glenn - RC1366A60C50
Powering the toilet revolution. (Reuters/Elias Glenn)

WRITTEN BY Echo Huang
OBSESSION China's Transition
6 hours ago

In many developing countries, finding a clean public toilet can be extremely hard. The problem has prompted cooperation between tech giants and local authorities. Google, for example, partnered with India’s urban planning authorities to help people locate the nearest toilets.
To mark World Toilet Day, which this year fell on Sunday (Nov.19), China unveiled a similar platform, the “National Public Toilet Cloud.” It’s from China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and is available via an app and a WeChat public account, a rough analog to a business’s Facebook page. The ministry aggregated information about nearly 330,000 national public toilets across the country, state news agency Xinhua (link in Chinese) said in a report, noting that “restrooms can reflect a country’s civilization level.”

https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/public-restrooms-shanghai.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=640
Restrooms available, left; filter by requirements, center; directions from Baidu Maps to the selected restroom, right. (Quartz/Wechat)

After scanning the QR code through WeChat, for instance, a page pops up and identifies your current location on the map app developed by China’s search giant company Baidu. Once you pinpoint a location, the next step is to choose the restroom type—whether it has toilet paper, whether the toilet’s free, and how far away it is from you. The platform then filters those meeting your requirements and tells you how to get there. The WeChat account right now only provides Chinese-language service.
Besides locating a restroom, restroom operators can share information about their facilities, including pictures, opening hours, fees, and how many pot or squat toilets it has.
There are already other similar apps developed by private companies—Gaode map, one of China’s most popular GPS applications, also allows you to search for a public toilet by inputting keywords. But the National Public Toilet Cloud platform has much more detailed information.
The toilet-finding platform is part of a project initiated by China in 2015 in hopes of boosting its tourism. Led by the China National Tourism Administration, the country has been on what it calls a “toilet revolution” journey—it has spent more than one billion yuan ($150 million) to build and renovate 68,000 restrooms across the country (link in Chinese), according to a report the organization released Sunday.
The tourism administration said it would continue to build and renovate another 64,000 restrooms (link in Chinese) from 2018 to 2020 as the country’s tourism industry continues to boom—close to half of the country’s population traveled during the country’s weeklong National Day holidays this year, the bulk of them domestically. Collectively, these tourists spent some 1.5 trillion yuan ($230 billion), including on food and shopping.
During the Golden Week’s peak hours, restroom queues can be lengthy. The new toilets, and the app to find them, might help shorten the wait.

Guòzhe gémìng (过着革命)!

[GeneChing]

Relief for foreigners amid China’s public toilets makeover ... but there’s still room to improve (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2139204/relief-foreigners-amid-chinas-public-toilets-makeover-theres)
‘The quality of public toilets has gotten so much cleaner and people’s etiquette has gotten better too,’ a South Korean visitor commented after a trip to China

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/03/30/c4457e8c-317a-11e8-9019-a420e6317de0_1280x720_202655.JPG?itok=yAL2GeUQ

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 31 March, 2018, 9:33am
UPDATED : Saturday, 31 March, 2018, 10:25pm
Mandy Zuo
mandy.zuo@scmp.com

From its economic prowess to its technological advances, signs of China’s progress in recent decades are easy to find. But for foreign visitors, one of the most telling indications of the country’s advancement is the improving condition of its public toilets.

Kay Park, a South Korean who lived in Beijing for more than 10 years, said that when she first visited China as a tourist 15 years ago, its public toilets were “a disaster”.

“There were no doors at some toilets,” she recalled in an interview. “Or people wouldn’t close the doors.”

Things had improved noticeably during a recent trip back to China, she said.

“The quality of public toilets has gotten so much cleaner and people’s etiquette has gotten better too,” Park said.

Across the mainland, more than 70,000 public toilets have been constructed or repaired since 2015, when President Xi Jinping ordered a “toilet revolution”.

Xi’s aim was to improve a fundamental public service that was notorious for its filth, odour and ill-mannered users.

The revolution is continuing, with another 64,000 toilets expected to be built or rebuilt in the next three years under a plan unveiled in November by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the former National Administration of Tourism.

Noting that the issue affects “people’s life quality”, Xi late last year urged improvements to public toilets in cities and rural areas.

Even in a major metropolis such as Nanjing, local residents still have trouble finding a public toilet when they need one, according to a survey of more than 200 city residents a year ago.

More than 96 per cent of participants said it was hard to find a public restroom, according to a report on the survey that was published on the Nanjing government’s website last April.

Ninety-four per cent complained about finding no toilet paper or hand wash. It also was common to find restrooms with damaged doors, hangers and taps, the report said.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/03/30/ac0d1244-317a-11e8-9019-a420e6317de0_1320x770_202655.JPG
Primitive toilets in China – and in some of its schools – are slowly giving way to more modern and better smelling alternatives. Photo: Handout

But talking both with users and people who work at public bathrooms suggests that cleanliness has become a greater priority.

Shen Weigan, who cleans the public toilet on Nanyang Road in central Shanghai, bragged in an interview that her restroom is “cleaner than kitchens”.

Shen, who also holds the job title of “manager”, said she and a colleague ensure the bathroom meets standards of cleanliness and ventilation while working alternating 5am to 10pm shifts.

The Nanyang Road facility – which was repaired and redecorated in September – is the cleanest restroom Shen said she has known since she started cleaning toilets in Shanghai in 2012.

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/03/30/70cb806a-3168-11e8-9019-a420e6317de0_1320x770_202655.JPG
Shen Weigan, who cleans the public toilet on Nanyang Road in Shanghai, says hiring more cleaners would dramatically improve toilet conditions in China. Photo: Mandy Zuo

The facility also sets itself apart from most streetside public toilets in China by offering a toilet space in a separate room that can be used by children, the disabled, people who are travelling with babies, and senior citizens who might need help going to the bathroom.

Besides warm water, soap and a hand drier, users also can find sanitary towels, sterile water for washing wounds and a sewing kit.

“People from above come to check up on sanitary conditions here every day,” she said.

The noticeable improvement in people’s behaviour compared with six years ago when Shen first started doing this work reflects the positive reaction to the clean surroundings, she said.

“They come in and see everything is tidy, so they try to be careful not to leave a mess,” she said.

Scott Blankenship, an American businessman from Indiana, who has been to China 11 times since 2015, compared the difference in the standards of the toilets he had visited on the mainland.

“In my hotel, the toilet was very nice – clean and no smell,” he said. “It was a Western-style toilet, just like in the US.”

By contrast, using the employee restrooms at the factories he visited in the city of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, was a far less pleasant experience, he said.

“I immediately noticed a very bad smell,” he said.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/03/30/fb35c4e2-3175-11e8-9019-a420e6317de0_1320x770_202655.jpeg
A transparent, ‘ecological toilet’ in Anlong county in Guizhou. Photo: Handout

One of the worst toilets he had seen was “a trough along the wall” of a highway toll booth, he said. “Very dirty and smelly.”

In setting priorities, China needs to put controlling smells created by bathroom smokers at the top of the list, according to Blankenship.

Although most major Chinese cities have banned smoking in any public space with a roof, smoking in public toilets remains commonplace because of a lack of policing of rules and of meting out punishment to violators.

‘Toilet chiefs’ in, luxury loos out as China’s public bathroom revolution rolls on

“Clean restrooms are very important and comforting to expats,” Blankenship said.

“We do not want the smell to be overpowering. We do not want to smell like cigarettes when we are done.

“We want warm water, soap and clean towels to clean our hands.”

Bivash Mukherjee, an Indian who has lived in Shanghai for nearly 20 years, said China has made “great progress” by increasing the availability and level of hygiene at its public bathrooms.

But a major complaint among foreign visitors relates to doors; either the lack of them, or people who do not close them in public restrooms, he said.

Often people leave the doors open because the door or its lock is damaged, but sometimes they keep them open simply out of habit, he said.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/03/30/d41e53d8-317a-11e8-9019-a420e6317de0_1320x770_202655.JPG
Workers plant flowers around a public toilet under construction at a park in Anlong county, Guizhou province. Photo: Reuters

The next-greatest grievance would be the lack of facility maintenance, Mukherjee said.

Although China and India both have had inadequate public toilets for years, China has made great advances in addressing the problem, he said.

“I had issues with toilets at very few places during my travels in China,” he said. “There was never a problem [with toilets] in Shanghai at all.”

India also is in the midst of its own toilet revolution, but public toilets at home still “stink like hell”, he said.

China’s central government has spent about 1 billion yuan (HK$1.25 billion; US$159.2 million) on the issue, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Local governments have allocated more than 20 billion yuan.

Zhou Lingqiang, a Zhejiang University professor specialising in tourism management, said the money should be used to build more toilets for women than men.

“You can still see many ladies line up in the women’s room while the men’s room is seldom fully occupied,” he said.

A third gender room for adults with elderly parents or young children or people who need to breast feed babies or change clothes is also necessary, he said.

“You can see many people change their clothes in public,” Zhou said. “This is something related to civilisation. With such a room they can do it indoors.”

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/03/30/75bb5abe-3168-11e8-9019-a420e6317de0_1320x770_202655.JPG
Shen Weigan (right) working at the public toilet on Nanyang Road in Shanghai. Photo: Mandy Zuo

To Shen, the cleaner, the urgent issue is hiring more people to maintain toilets.

In most cases, a public toilet is just one part of a cleaner’s responsibilities, preventing him or her from keeping it sanitary all the time, she said.

Designating one person to keep toilets tidy can generate a virtuous cycle, she said.

“A person may litter when he’s in somewhere already very dirty, but when he comes to somewhere very tidy and clean, he will be careful not to ruin the comfortable place,” she said.

“It’s just like if you enter somewhere quiet, you’ll naturally keep your voice down when talking to your companion.

“So having a particular person to maintain the toilet is very important. People’s behaviour can be improved with our work.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Foreign visitors see great leap forward in public restrooms

This thread has come so far... :cool:

[GeneChing]

It’s not just Starbucks ... businesses across China are opening their toilets to the public (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2148183/its-not-just-starbucks-businesses-across-china-are-opening-their)
Thousands of companies agree to open their washrooms to the public as part of the nation’s ‘toilet revolution’ campaign

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 29 May, 2018, 11:54am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 29 May, 2018, 9:23pm
Mandy Zuo
mandy.zuo@scmp.com
288SHARE

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/05/29/dd3f27c2-626b-11e8-82ea-2acc56ad2bf7_1280x720_141959.jpg

When Starbucks announced it had changed its policy on the use of its toilets following a massive public relations disaster over the arrest of two black men in one of its outlets in Philadelphia, the news made headlines around the world.

But while the US coffee chain might have felt it had no choice but to change its rules on toilet use, hundreds of companies across China are taking part in a new social initiative that will see them opening their restrooms to the public as part of the “toilet revolution” that has been under way for the past three years.

The campaign was launched by President Xi Jinping in 2015, and since then more than 70,000 new and refurbished public toilets have opened across the country.

And in recent weeks, authorities in five cities have announced plans to make thousands more available by working with their local business communities.

Hotels, cafes and even government buildings have opened their toilet doors to anyone who needs them. Photo: Sohu

In Hangzhou, capital of eastern China’s Zhejiang province, the government of Jianggan district has signed deals with 64 shops, hotels and government buildings to open their facilities to the public.

According to Kong Jiahui, who works in the district’s urban management bureau, the agreements were part of a citywide drive to get 490 outlets to join the scheme by the end of the year.

Relief for foreigners amid China’s public toilets makeover ... but there’s still room to improve

Kong said that she and her colleagues met managers and owners of the properties to secure their support for the scheme.

Under the deal, the buildings are required to put up a sign advertising the fact their toilets are open to the public, and must ensure they are well maintained and open for at least eight hours a day.

In return, the government agreed to pay each venue 1,000 yuan (US$156) a year to cover the cost of the upkeep.

Chinese public toilets go hi-tech with Wi-fi and facial recognition

Kong said the long-term goal for the city was to ensure residents and visitors were never more than 10 minutes away from a public toilet, although she acknowledged that achieving this would not be easy.

“In our district there are 319 public toilets, but in some residential communities, which are old and densely populated, we can’t meet the demand,” she said.

“Because of limited land resources there is no room for new toilets, but by borrowing them from the 64 outlets, we’ve eased the pressure to some extent.”

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Companies in the scheme must put up signs advertising that their toilets are open to the public, and must ensure they are well maintained and open for at least eight hours a day. Photo: Sohu

Aside from the government in Jianggan, authorities across the country – from Shijiazhuang in the north to Xiamen in the southeast, Linhai in the east to Neijiang in the southwest – have all announced similar schemes to provide more toilets by working with their local business communities.

Dina Lin, a Hangzhou resident in her 30s, said she welcomed the initiative but said she was concerned about how easy it would be for people to know where the toilets were.

“There should be clear signs on the street saying which buildings are involved, otherwise the project will be meaningless for people just passing by,” she said.

“Because only a small number of premises are involved at the moment, people need to be given clear guidance.”

It would appear to be a valid concern. While many of the companies involved in the scheme have put up signs outside their premises, they are not always clear to see from the street – and some of them are even inside the buildings, rendering them almost useless.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/05/29/dd012238-626b-11e8-82ea-2acc56ad2bf7_image_hires_141959.jpg
A sign near a building in Xiamen advertises that their toilets are open to the public. Photo: Weixin

In Neijiang, Sichuan province, a worker at the Baisheng Hotel, which has signed up for the scheme, said she had no idea her employer had opened its toilets to the public and had not seen any signs stating that fact.

Another problem facing foreign visitors to the cities is having to decipher signs written in pidgin English.

A sign outside a government building in Zhengding county, Hebei province, reads, in English: “Inside the toilet opening to the outside world” under two lines of Chinese characters that state quite clearly, “Public toilet inside”.

Another, in Linhai, in Zhejiang, says in English: “Equipped with toilet opening”.

Cheng Chao, an assistant manager at the Zhejiang Zijing Hotel in Hangzhou, said the restrooms in the lobby of her workplace had been open to the public since the hotel opened in 2008.

“Many people living in the neighbourhood come to use the toilets. We just assumed they were always open to the public, although a sign was only put up last year,” she said.

“We don’t see it as a big burden in terms of cleaning.”

Zhan Dongmei, who works at China Tourism Academy, a Beijing-based research institution, said that while she supported the scheme, it should not be obligatory for businesses to take part.

“The government should not force companies to bear this social responsibility, and should provide compensation and support if they do,” she said.

“But, as well as being a great leap forward in meeting the demand for public toilets, it could be good for local companies by increasing their brand awareness,” she said.

“And if every commercial building signs up for the scheme, the amount of toilet traffic will be equally spread so it won’t put too much pressure on any one place.”

“Equipped with toilet opening” is kinda awesome.

[GeneChing]

But I just could NOT resist posting this somewhere...:p



In This Exhibition, You Walk Through Excrement (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/arts/design/gelatin-excrement-sculptures.html)

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/09/arts/09gelatin1/merlin_138436260_9b2ac39e-a64c-4cf9-b796-b2b315414a66-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp
Giant turd sculptures by the Viennese art collective Gelatin at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Credit Michel de Groot for The New York Times

By Nina Siegal
June 7, 2018

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands — When I entered the exhibition, I was invited to get nude. I searched a clothes rack filled with skin-toned “naked costumes” featuring all shapes and sizes of male and female genitalia, and chose a peach-color hermaphroditic garment, with teddy-bear fur, a male member between its legs and wide-set breasts. I pulled it on over my clothes.

Then I walked into the excrement.

There were four giant turds inside the 16,000 square feet of museum space. One mammoth piece of feces was reminiscent of a long, winding steel sculpture by Richard Serra. One was a brown spiral. Another resembled an enormous chocolate chip. Yet another featured intertwined layers with a gap in between that I could have crawled through, if I had been brave enough.

All four sculptures of fecal matter sat on elegant Persian rugs, like welcome-home gifts left by a huge, vengeful dog.


The exhibition, “Gelatin: Vorm — Fellows — Attitude,” at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, running through Aug. 12, is the latest work by Gelatin (also sometimes spelled Gelitin), a Vienna-based art collective known for breaking taboos, evoking nervous laughter, and getting intimate with bodies and their excretions.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/09/arts/09gelatin4/merlin_138436356_d25224c0-2f9f-412b-88f0-1331ecf7156d-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&auto=webp
Left to right: Tobias Urban, Ali Janka, Florian Reither and Wolfgang Gantner, the four artists in Gelatin.Credit Michel de Groot for The New York Times

The four artists who make up the collective, Wolfgang Gantner, Ali Janka, Florian Reither and Tobias Urban, spent two weeks building up the sculptures in situ in the large contemporary galleries at the Boijmans before the opening on May 19. A team of helpers first constructed enormous plaster casts and then covered them by hand with thick brown clay.

It was, all told, “about three or four elephants’ worth of clay,” said Mr. Janka in a group interview with the artists in the museum’s staff canteen. Mr. Urban chimed in to correct him, suggesting that each sculpture was actually as heavy as “an elephant and a hippopotamus.”

Any museum show that presents excrement to its visitors as art has to expect at least a little scandal. Sjarel Ex, director of the Boijmans, said he had no problem with that.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/09/arts/09gelatin2/merlin_138436344_911db36e-ef32-4cfd-9bc8-b3f47debe152-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Gelatin spent two weeks building up the structures in situ. A team of helpers first constructed enormous plaster casts and then covered them by hand with thick clay.Credit Michel de Groot for The New York Times

“It could be the first time that all art enemies and art lovers can agree about one thing,” he said, with a smile. They could all say that it’s poop, he said, though he used a more colorful word.

Mr. Ex said that he had no hesitation about commissioning the work. He said the show had many possible interpretations.

“You can approach it from the field of sculpture, you can approach it as an installation that was tailor-made for these big rooms,” he said, “and you can see it as a provocation and then explore what side of you is provoked. That’s also very interesting. You can also see it as an intimate experience you keep only for yourself.”

Gelatin’s work is often raw, brutal and absurd, and often intentionally, but playfully, repellent. The artists have made a “human birthday cake” in which they arranged themselves naked in a circle, with lit candles coming out of their anuses. In 2000, they illegally broke into the World Trade Center and installed a small balcony on the 91st floor (a stunt that lasted a mere 19 minutes or so). In 2005, their projects included a sculpture made from frozen urine and a 180-foot pink toy bunny, which they left to decompose on the side of a mountain in the Italian Alps.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/09/arts/09gelatin5/merlin_139133610_6425c45a-7bbe-477a-9312-cc4a73aeefa1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
In “Rabbit,” a 2005 work, Gelatin left a 180-foot pink toy bunny to decompose on the side of a mountain in the Italian Alps.Credit Gelatin

Their form of performance-based, interactive art has roots in the 1960s Situationist and Fluxus movements, said the exhibition’s curator, Francesco Stocchi, and particularly in the Austrian avant-garde movement called Viennese Actionism, whose artists often used their own naked bodies as a canvas, and blood, milk or entrails as their materials. Since 1993, Gelatin has exhibited all over the world, including at the Venice Biennale, the Greene Naftali gallery in New York, a cave in Puerto Rico, and, most recently, at the Fondazione Prada in Milan.

“They tend to use two powerful tools: humor and simplification,” said Mr. Stocchi, who is the Boijman’s curator of modern and contemporary art. “Simple doesn’t mean to make it easy but to have a clarity of intentions. The intention is confronting ourselves with our own fears, or our own preconceived notions or taboos, which we can also call prejudices. When we have prejudices, what can we do? We can discuss. So the exhibition is an arena for discussion.”

Mr. Stocchi invited Gelatin to create a piece for the museum’s contemporary Bodon Wing, which was built in the 1970s to accommodate land art pieces, minimalist installations and monumental art.

In the interview, however, Mr. Janka challenged the use of “monumental” to describe the turd sculptures. “Monumental is the wrong word because what we’re really interested in is the un-monumental,” he said.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/09/arts/09gelatin3/merlin_138436302_ac9307b7-0d89-4dfe-b6a1-4902c8019791-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
“It’s a monument for inclusiveness,” one of the artists said, “because everyone can relate to it.”Credit Michel de Groot for The New York Times

“For me, they are monumental,” Mr. Urban said.

“But if they’re monumental, what is the monument for?” Mr. Gantner asked.

“It’s a monument for inclusiveness,” Mr. Urban replied, “because everyone can relate to it.”

That short exchange gives a glimpse of how the four artists work together, discussing and debating the terms of their work even when it is already on show.

And why the naked suits? Is the idea to make visitors feel more vulnerable to the experience?

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/06/09/arts/09gelatin7/merlin_138436290_b5b872a4-5de5-4cad-aa36-2cc18fb4c5b0-superJumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Visitors to the exhibition are asked to don “naked costumes” featuring various shapes and sizes of male and female genitalia.
Credit Michel de Groot for The New York Times

“It’s a way of getting them out of their clothes without undressing them,” Mr. Urban said. “With clothes, you know immediately that someone is a banker or something else and when you get them out of their own clothes they can be anybody.”

The Boijmans van Beuningen is probably best known for its large collection of early Dutch and Flemish paintings, which include works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Hieronymus Bosch, Renaissance artists who explored drolleries, grotesque hybrid beings, and people and animals engaged in all kinds of coarse behavior. The museum also has a collection of surrealist art.

“If you look into the work of Gelatin, you see that they very often refer to those artists,” Mr. Ex said. “The strange performances that they do and even the costumes — you put on one of their costumes and look like you come from one of those paintings. It’s not a re-enactment of Bosch or Bruegel, but it’s a kind of mentality that belongs to this museum.”

Mr. Ex said he had anticipated that the show might cause a sensation and that there would be some adverse reactions from visitors. In the weeks since the exhibition opened, however, Dutch art critics have mostly been receptive of the work, although there have been negative comments on the museum’s Facebook page.

“We are a free space, so we can do things that are silly and also maybe a sign of bad taste,” Mr. Ex said. “This is a museum, here is a place where artists work and we have to defend the freedom of showing things, so there’s a bigger side to it.”

But, he added, “so far, my experience is that people just enjoyed it and had fun with it.”

[GeneChing]

Firefighters in China free drunk woman who trapped leg in toilet bowl (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2151772/firefighters-china-free-drunk-woman-who-trapped-leg-toilet-bowl)
Family called fire department after trying for hours to release woman’s foot from bowl
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 21 June, 2018, 12:57pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 21 June, 2018, 1:08pm
Erin Chan

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/06/21/ae6573c6-7502-11e8-aa4d-d2a0e82fc143_1280x720_130807.JPG?itok=Uv5cUYxu

A drunk woman in Yulin, Guangxi, had to be rescued by firefighters after she slipped and got her leg stuck in a squat toilet.

The woman, who was shown trapped in the toilet, in a video, became distraught after getting her right foot stuck and finding she was unable to remove it, on Tuesday morning.

The footage, posted on the Pear Video the same day, has been widely circulated online.

The firefighters from the Yulin Fire Department arrived at the scene after six minutes and used tools to break up the toilet bowl.

The woman was later found to have suffered slight injuries to her feet.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/06/21/aefcdea0-7502-11e8-aa4d-d2a0e82fc143_1320x770_130807.JPG
A firefighter comes to the rescue and helps release the woman. Photo: pearvideo.com

She ignored the advice of her family not to use the squat toilet while she was under the influence of alcohol.

Family members finally called the fire department for help after trying for hours to free her foot from the bowl, YNET reported.

‘Toilet chiefs’ in, luxury loos out as China’s public bathroom revolution rolls on

Yulin Fire Department reminded people to drink sensibly, especially during public holidays, when there are often family reunions where alcohol is served.

It said people should be serious about ensuring their personal safety.

In May, a kindergarten student in Hebei province slipped and got her left leg stuck in the squat toilet of her school bathroom. After a teacher failed to free her, firefighters got her out by again destroying the toilet bowl.

"She ignored the advice of her family not to use the squat toilet while she was under the influence of alcohol." Wait...srsly? Who the **** says that to a drunk person? What was she going to use then? This sounds like her family just being *******s and saying 'We told her so.'

[David Jamieson]

This whole thread is interesting and parts of it are disturbing at the same time! Amazing! lol

[GeneChing]

This whole thread is interesting and parts of it are disturbing at the same time! Amazing! lol Right? There's a Doctoral dissertation in this - not sure for what department - anthropology maybe? :p

Here's another article that I found by clicking a link in the previous article.


‘Toilet chiefs’ in, luxury loos out as China’s public bathroom revolution rolls on (http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2127343/toilet-chiefs-luxury-loos-out-chinas-public-bathroom-revolution)
Head of tourism calls on local authorities to appoint officials to keep an eye on hygiene at the country’s growing number of restrooms
PUBLISHED : Monday, 08 January, 2018, 7:36pm
UPDATED : Monday, 08 January, 2018, 9:58pm
COMMENTS: 9

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/01/08/00f25b0e-f448-11e7-8693-80d4e18fb3a2_1280x720_195243.JPG?itok=v0DrK9Y5

Sidney Leng
Sidney Leng
sidney.leng@scmp.com
http://twitter.com/SidneyLeng

China’s tourism supremo has called for “toilet chiefs” to keep tabs on hygiene at public bathrooms but warned against construction of more “five-star” facilities as the country rolls on with its national “toilet revolution”.

Li Jinzao, head of the China National Tourism Administration, said lower-level authorities should follow the lead of Xian, in Shaanxi province, and appoint official monitors to keep an eye on standards in public toilets.

In Xian, the hygiene of the facilities overseen by each toilet chief is a factor in their political performance and promotion opportunities. A similar system has been adopted for the country’s waterways.

China is in the midst of a toilet revolution launched in 2015 by Chinese President Xi Jinping to improve sanitation at tourist sites.

China’s public bathroom blitz goes nationwide as Xi Jinping rallies forces in the ‘toilet revolution’

By the end of last year, authorities had built more than 70,000 new toilets, overshooting the three-year target of 57,000 set at the start of the campaign.

But some of the new facilities have become so well appointed that they have become destinations in their own right.

Last year, a pavilion-style public toilet in Xiuhu Park in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing attracted attention for reportedly costing about 1 million yuan (US$154,000) to build. It was styled on top-of-the-line public toilets in Singapore.

Another “five-star” public toilet near downtown Chongqing featured TV, Wi-fi, phone chargers, water fountains, and automatic shoe polishers, according to Chinese media reports.

At the administration’s annual policy meeting on Friday, Li said that construction of such fancy toilets needed to stop and the focus should be on convenience and durability instead.

To deter such construction, China ditched its five-tier star system on tourism toilets in 2016, replacing it with a three-tier A system. It is also shifting the focus of the overall campaign from hardware to management.

Chinese and Indian toilet revolutions look to Singapore’s bottom line

Bai Lin, China project manager with the World Toilet Organisation and an adviser to local governments during the campaign, said appointing “toilet chiefs” could help local governments focus more on the management of public toilets rather than their architectural style.

“China’s toilet revolution still has a long way to go,” Bai said.

Public toilets in many second and third-tier cities in China’s central and western regions are not connected to sewage systems and waste is left to seep into the ground.

Beijing also plans to promote the “Toilet Open Alliance”, an initiative to increase public access to toilets inside government buildings, state-owned companies, and restaurants, among others. Any entities that join the alliance will put a special tag on their doors.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: back to basics for toilet revolution, Beijing says

[GeneChing]

Man, do we need a separate thread just for people who get stuck in Chinese toilets?


Chinese man has his arm firmly stuck in a squat toilet for an entire night after trying to reach his dropped keys (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5937355/Chinese-man-arm-stuck-squat-toilet-entire-night-trying-reach-dropped-keys.html)
The man lives alone in Jingzhou city, central China's Hubei province
He dropped his keys in the toilet at about 11pm and was trying to retrieve them
His hand then became jammed due to the high pressure inside the pipe
The man shouted for six hours until a neighbour heard him and called for help
By KELSEY CHENG FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 06:38 EDT, 10 July 2018 | UPDATED: 07:37 EDT, 10 July 2018

A man in central China spent an entire night with his arm stuck in a squat toilet after trying to reach for his keys.

The man who lives alone in Jingzhou city spent six hours calling for help until a neighbour heard him the next morning and alerted emergency services.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at about 6am on Sunday and had to break apart the toilet to free the man's arm, according to Metropolis Daily.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/10/12/4E148E1300000578-5937355-A_man_in_central_China_spent_an_entire_night_with_ his_arm_stuck_-a-24_1531222602458.jpg
A man in central China spent an entire night with his arm stuck in a squat toilet after trying to reach for keys. He called for help for six hours until a neighbour heard him in the morning

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/10/12/4E148E0C00000578-5937355-A_firefighter_was_seen_breaking_the_porcelain_toil et_with_a_larg-a-25_1531222607505.jpg
A firefighter was seen breaking the porcelain toilet with a large hammer on Sunday morning

Video footage of the rescue operation in Hubei province shows the man's right arm completely jammed down the toilet.

The man, identified as Mr Wang, was seen lying flat on his front, unable to move.

He had accidentally dropped his keys in the toilet at about 11pm the night before and attempted to reach for them, but could not get his arm out due to the high pressure inside the tube.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/10/12/4E148E3300000578-5937355-He_attempted_to_reach_for_his_dropped_keys_but_cou ld_not_get_his-a-26_1531222612810.jpg
He attempted to reach for his dropped keys, but could not get his arm out due to the high pressure inside the tube. Firefighters spent 30 minutes to free him

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/10/12/4E148E1F00000578-5937355-The_man_identified_as_Mr_Wang_was_seen_lying_flat_ on_his_front_u-a-27_1531222617956.jpg
The man, identified as Mr Wang, was seen lying flat on his front, unable to move

A firefighter was seen breaking the porcelain with a large hammer and a drill.

'Your arm is stuck inside the pipes, yes?' another fireman asked Mr Wang.

'Yes - for the whole night,' he replied.

'Can you still feel your arm?'

'Yes,' he said.

After 30 minutes, firefighters freed the man. His arm was red and swollen, according to the report.

He was taken to hospital for a checkup.

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/10/12/4E148E3B00000578-5937355-After_30_minutes_firefighters_freed_the_man_His_ar m_was_red_and_-a-28_1531222626976.jpg
After 30 minutes, firefighters freed the man. His arm was red and swollen

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/07/10/12/4E148E4100000578-5937355-After_being_rescued_the_man_was_taken_to_hospital_ for_a_checkup-a-29_1531222633029.jpg
After being rescued, the man was taken to hospital for a checkup

Squat toilets seem to pose a safety hazard in China - getting a body part stuck in the toilet is apparently a common occurrence.

A man in south-east China also had his entire arm stuck in a squat toilet when he tried to retrieve his phone in May.

Firefighters had to use washing-up liquid to reduce the friction while breaking the porcelain toilet to free the man's arm.

In April, a woman got her foot stuck inside a squat toilet after using a public bathroom in Nanning. Firefighters had to use cooking oil to ease her leg out of the contraption.

[GeneChing]

China is Using Mass Pee and Poo Surveillance to Police Illegal Drug Use (https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjkdgz/china-is-using-mass-pee-and-poo-surveillance-to-police-illegal-drug-use)
Police in dozens of Chinese cities are sifting through human waste to track narcotics rings and drug programs.
Sarah Emerson
Jul 17 2018, 10:38am

https://video-images.vice.com/articles/5b4e286281bfae000c341812/lede/1531848896067-shutterstock_1126996889.jpeg
Image: Shutterstock

The pee and poo of Chinese citizens have become veritable gold to police surveilling local drug use. Dozens of cities in China are now forensically analyzing sewage for drug consumption, according to Nature, which has led to the arrest of one drug manufacturer.

The city of Zhongshan, in Guangdong province, has been monitoring wastewater to evaluate drug-reduction programs, reports Nature. Police arrested a drug manufacturer based on the chemical analysis of human sewage, and “a handful of cities are planning to use [this kind of] data...to set targets for police arrests of drug users, some as early as next year.”

This process is called wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), and works by testing for certain byproducts, or metabolites, that the body produces after metabolizing drugs. Some of these byproducts are present in human sewage, and can act like biomarkers for substances such as cocaine and weed, as previous WBE studies have shown. As it’s currently used, WBE is quantitative tool; combined with population or other data, it can potentially tell investigators how much of a drug is used, and how that changes over time.

Biomonitoring isn’t only used for drug research—it’s led to some benefits in disease studies, for instance—and poses different benefits and consequences depending on how it’s wielded.

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently doubled-down on anti-drug efforts, vowing to target trafficking networks and drug makers, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. By the end of 2018, Nature reports that central and local governments will have poured 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) into WBE surveillance.

As Nature notes, experts largely agree that WBE is fairly reliable at estimating drug use, and might be a better gauge than law enforcement data, which “can be misleading because they are indirect measures.”

A study by Colombian researchers, for example, corroborated survey and police data about cocaine and cannabis use in the city of Medellín. And wastewater collected from 49 treatment plants shed light on heroin use in 24 Chinese cities.

Still, its adoption by Chinese police raises interesting issues about biomonitoring ethics—mainly around consent regarding how biological substances are obtained, analyzed, and stored. We don’t know if measures will be put in place to prevent abuse, such as privacy violations or the improper use of biological data. As it stands, more efforts are needed to fully flesh out an ethical framework for the emerging technology.

Talk about your ****ty jobs - who gets to be the Chinese crap inspector?

[Jimbo]

Talk about your ****ty jobs - who gets to be the Chinese crap inspector?

Well...in China they actually have professional f@rt sniffers (for real). I'm betting if the job pays well enough, they'll have a ton of people in China signing up to be crap inspectors.

[GeneChing]

Two Chinese brothers die trying to retrieve dropped phone from latrine (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2157593/two-chinese-brothers-die-trying-retrieve-dropped-phone-latrine)

Two Chinese brothers die trying to retrieve dropped phone from latrine
Pair killed after they became stuck in cesspit filled with human excrement

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 31 July, 2018, 1:37pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 31 July, 2018, 2:41pm
Windy Li

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/07/31/59ed191c-9478-11e8-acb0-2eccab85240c_1280x720_144139.jpg?

Two brothers from a rural village in northern China got stuck and died in a cesspit after they tried to retrieve a lost mobile phone, according to a local police report.

Police said one of the two men went down to the latrine pit in Huyan village in Shanxi province at noon last Tuesday, to pick up a phone dropped by his son the day before.

When he failed to emerge from the 2-metre pit, his brother went down to save him but also became trapped and died.

China’s public bathroom blitz goes nationwide as Xi Jinping rallies forces in the ‘toilet revolution’
When their families discovered they were missing they called the police, who knocked down the latrine wall and used pumps to empty the pit, but by that time they were too late.

Rescuers said the noxious gases generated by the human waste could cause people to lose consciousness.

Despite an ongoing “toilet revolution” intended to improve public hygiene across China, many rural areas still lack flushing lavatories and the use of latrine pits is still common.

A number of other deaths caused by people trying to retrieve phones from latrines have been recorded in China, including a similar tragedy in Huyan village five years ago.

In that incident a 43-year-old woman who dropped a phone became trapped in the pit and her husband and daughter also died trying to save her.

What a crappy way to die. And what a pointless reason.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1peY2i08wx0

[GeneChing]

Woah. Is 'logs' in the title an intentional pun?


China's 'toilet revolution' logs double-digit growth (https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-Trends/China-s-toilet-revolution-logs-double-digit-growth)
Japan's Toto and Lixil compete with local players for middle-class customers

NAOKI MATSUDA and SHUNTARO FUKUTOMI, Nikkei staff writers
August 24, 2018 15:28 JST

https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com%2Fpsh-ex-ftnikkei-3937bb4%2Fimages%2F6%2F1%2F4%2F5%2F15365416-1-eng-GB%2F20180822N%20Shanghai%20toilets_Data.jpg?sourc e=nar-cms
A showroom featuring Arrow toilets in Shanghai.

SHANGHAI/TOKYO -- China's toilet market has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years, driven by middle-class customers who covet high-function models as well as by a government call to modernize bathrooms nationwide.

About 44.8 million toilets were sold in 2016, up 12% from 2015, according to Chinese researcher Zhiyan Consulting. High-end toilets with built-in bidets and other functions are particularly popular. Sales of such units reached 3.1 million in 2016, up nearly 60% from the previous year, reports Askci Consulting, another Chinese outfit.

Local manufacturers boasting affordable prices and Japanese manufacturers of high-end offerings, like Toto and Lixil, are competing head on to satisfy increasingly demanding consumers.

Bidet toilets from Toto and Lixil can run between 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan ($1,462 to $2,924) for best-selling models. But Chinese makers undercut the two Japanese competitors with prices ranging from 3,000 yuan to 7,000 yuan.

At one Shanghai outlet run by Jomoo Group, a major mainland manufacturer, a sales associate touts both the affordability of the toilets, and how the features rival those of Toto and Lixil. Thanks to the purification equipment installed, "the bidet water is so clean you could drink directly from it," said the vendor.

Arrow, another domestic producer, is experiencing brisk sales due to its reasonably-priced models. "We sell 10 to 20 units a day," said an employee at an Arrow shop in Shanghai. "We are so busy dealing with customers on weekends that we have no time for breaks."

Gold-plated toilets featured inside the Japan pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo drew much foot traffic. In 2015, Chinese tourists were seen purchasing bidet-style toilets while traveling in Japan. But one major reason Chinese demand for toilets is steadily rising is the policy adopted by the one-party state.

President Xi Jinping called for a "toilet revolution" in 2015 to upgrade unsanitary facilities found in tourist spots. At this March's National People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang delivered a government work report that addresses toilets as a hygiene issue.

But even without the urging of the government, Chinese citizens are willing to shell out money for an upgraded toilet. One 42-year-old woman paid 12,000 yuan for a commode at a Toto showroom in Shanghai. She said she checked out Chinese models as well, but says she prefers Toto for the quality and design.

"The affluent in Shanghai and other cities favor upmarket products exceeding more than the Japanese," said Lixil President Kinya Seto. "Japanese companies also garner support because of the safety standard."

Lixil took advantage of the golden opportunity last year by launching an internet site in China that markets built-in bidet toilets. The platform even pairs customers with professional installers. Lixil anticipates roughly 600 million yen ($5.42 million) in sales this year, with the goal of raking in roughly 10 billion yen by 2021.

Meanwhile, Toto will lean on a line of Washlet Plus bidet toilets sleekly designed with the Chinese consumer in mind. The company is aiming for 100 billion yen in sales from its Chinese operation in fiscal 2022, up 50% from fiscal 2017.

India, whose market for sanitary installations is estimated at 40 billion rupees ($572 million), is also an enticing target in Asia. Only about half of India's households have toilets, and the government initiative to lift the ratio adds to the margin for growth. Lixil bought a large stake in India's Sentini Sanitarywares this January, which started making toilets this month bearing the brand of Lixil Group companies American Standard and Germany's Grohe.

But China is all but certain to maintain the red-hot demand for multifunction toilets. Beijing this month issued ordinances mandating restaurants check toilets once every 15 minutes, as well as an order to disinfect lavatory fixtures at least four times a day.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=wwhb3IFX_DM

[GeneChing]

Really Bill? Really?

Wonder who's poop it was...


Bill Gates uses jar of poop to draw attention to the world’s toilet problem at China expo (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2171998/bill-gates-uses-jar-poop-draw-attention-worlds-toilet-problem)
Billionaire philanthropist tells event in Beijing about charity’s work to bring down cost of providing safe sanitation in developing countries
He says technologies on show at three-day event are ‘most significant advances in nearly 200 years’
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 06 November, 2018, 11:02pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 07 November, 2018, 1:26pm
Zhuang Pinghui

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/11/07/5d637f6c-e1af-11e8-829d-1199cf0acfc4_1280x720_132602.JPG?itok=JUTKoZug

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates wants the world to take notice of a serious issue that affects nearly half of the population – sanitation.

The Microsoft founder has been investing in finding solutions to the problem for the past seven years. Opening the three-day Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing on Tuesday, he said his charity had already spent US$200 million on research and development into sanitation technology to bring down the cost of providing clean and safe facilities in developing countries, especially areas without sewers. And it plans to spend another US$200 million.

“We are all here for one reason: because more than half the world’s population doesn’t have the safe sanitation they need to lead healthy and productive lives,” Gates told officials, business owners, bankers and academics at the expo hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.


I have to say, a decade ago I never imagined that I’d know so much about poop
BILL GATES, OPENING HIS REINVENTED TOILET EXPO IN BEIJING
To make his point, Gates brought on stage a jar of human waste, saying the pathogens it contained could cause diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid – illnesses that kill nearly 500,000 children aged under five every year in places without proper sanitation.

He said he became aware of the problem when he began travelling to poor areas with his wife Melinda Gates and found children playing in lanes strewn with human waste and where the water was contaminated.

They recognised the need to provide sanitation as a step to reducing poverty.

“One of the things we’re able to do as a foundation is invest in the early-stage R&D needed to create a path forward for the private sector to commercialise technologies and products that also help us achieve our goals. It’s a real win-win,” Gates said.

He said the foundation’s partners had developed a self-powered technology that takes in human waste, kills dangerous pathogens and converts the resulting materials into products with potential commercial value – like clean water, electricity and fertiliser.

“I have to say, a decade ago I never imagined that I’d know so much about poop. And I definitely never thought that Melinda would have to tell me to stop talking about toilets and faecal sludge at the dinner table,” the billionaire told a laughing audience. “But I’m quite enthusiastic about what has been accomplished in just seven years.”

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/11/07/6e72a58a-e1af-11e8-829d-1199cf0acfc4_1320x770_132602.jpg
Visitors look at a model of a self-contained toilet at the expo in Beijing. Photo: AP

Twenty of the hi-tech toilets are on show at the expo – all of them taking a different approach to break down human waste and destroy germs, leaving behind clean water or solids that can be used as fertiliser or safely disposed outdoors.

“The technologies you’ll see here are the most significant advances in sanitation in nearly 200 years,” Gates said.

Three years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for improvements to toilets across the country in a campaign known as the “toilet revolution”. Since then, tens of thousands of facilities have been built or upgraded. At first the focus was on tourist sites but the campaign was later expanded nationwide to rural areas and cities.

However, there are still some 57 million households without their own toilets and, of those, 17 million – mainly in the countryside – face serious hygiene issues.

According to Gates, solving the sanitation problem in developing countries would also create a new multibillion-dollar business opportunity. He estimated that by 2030, it would be worth about US$6 billion a year worldwide.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/11/07/7d73ea94-e1af-11e8-829d-1199cf0acfc4_1320x770_132602.jpg
Bill Gates explains how a toilet designed by Swiss engineering firm Helbling works. Photo: AFP

He explained how a toilet designed by Swiss engineering firm Helbling worked, discharging some liquid but filtering most of it back into the flushing tank for reuse. Swiss fragrance company Firmenich has also developed a toilet treatment product that can eliminate odours to reduce the number of daily flushes needed for just US$1.30 a month.

In China, the foundation is working with three local partners to improve toilet facilities. One of them is Eco-San, which has developed a system that can treat human waste, and filter and recycle the flushing water.

China’s ‘toilet revolution’ is almost complete … but it’s still far behind global standards
It has been introduced in primary schools, temples and tourist spots in Yixing, Jiangsu province and has capacity for 300 to 2,500 flushes a day, costing about 15 US cents each time.

“The price will be much lower if they are mass-produced or if we can find local partners in underdeveloped areas for mass production,” deputy general manager Mary Li said.

[GeneChing]

...eh, I don't know where I was going with that title for this post.

But this is kinda ironic.


Lack of public toilets in India deters Chinese tourists (https://newsin.asia/lack-of-public-toilets-in-india-deters-chinese-tourists/)
by Editor January 17, 2019

https://newsin.asia/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Chinese-tourists-in-India.jpg

Beijing, January 17 (One India): More and more Chinese are coming up as globe trotters but not many among them are considering India, the neighboring country, as their destination.

According to a report in China’s Global Times news website, when one enters “India” as a destination on search engine Fliggy, a travel service platform of Alibaba, it shows up several tours to India but not many of them are sold enough. India falls really behind when it is compared to other South-Asian nations like Thailand and Vietnam as a travel destination.

“… tours to Southeast Asian countries, including trips to the islands of Thailand or cities in Vietnam, are hot sellers on Fliggy. For example, a six-day trip to the Indonesian island of Bali had sold 165 times this month as of press time,” the Times report said. Liang Xude, who has a business that helps with visa applications, said only one per cent of Chinese tourists who plan to travel to Southeast Asian nations is interested in getting a visa to India.

In 2018, 140 million Chinese tourists spent over $120 billion on overseas trips, revealed China Tourism Academy and India is trying to lure more of Chinese tourists. Times cited a report by Economic Times that came in August that India is revamping its tourism strategy in China aiming to see more footfalls from that country. It has also opened a full-fledged regional tourism office in China, planning to see 144 million tourists from the neighboring country in the next five years.

But despite these efforts, Chinese tourists still refuse to see India as a top destination to visit, thanks to the latter’s security and sanitation problems, the Times cited many Chinese as saying.

The news report spoke about an online travel agency member, according to whom the Chinese tourists are worried over reports that India has less public toilets and cow dungs are littered all over the places.

“I have to say that these reports about India are true, as Indians pay a lot of respect to cows. But many tourists travel by car, which means they would not step on the cow dung,” the Times cited the member as saying.

Besides the sanitation problem, the news about rape cases that have gone viral online has also left an impression among the Chinese that India is not safe.

There are also Chinese tourists who have been to India and have said good things about their experience but it seems the negative publicity takes time to be erased.

[slink]

I don't know, I am not really a fan of such bright color and the design these bathrooms have. Plus, it is quite difficult to find matching accessories like natural bathrobe (https://www.martialartsmart.com/45-001.html). It will never match.

[GeneChing]

Kid playing on phone gets his butt stuck in toilet seat, parents call firefighters for help (https://shanghai.ist/2019/03/05/kid-playing-on-phone-gets-his-butt-stuck-in-toilet-seat-parents-call-firefighters-for-help/?fbclid=IwAR0lMajgIMxWZHF3UBPj2Bixi2da8fPf5yJTbNar _Q8paJc-pAf7hRf3p9k)
Let this serve as a lesson for us all
by Alex Linder March 5, 2019 in News

https://i2.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/stuck-in-toilet.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1

In a cautionary tale for us all, a boy in the city of Wuhan managed to get his butt stuck in a toilet seat after spending too long sitting on the commode.

Unsurprisingly, the 6-year-old spent so much time on the crapper because he was playing on his phone. When he finally tried to dismount, he found he was unable to budge and cried out for help. However, his family members were also unable to pull him loose and were forced to call emergency services.

Demonstrating just how stuck the kid actually was, it took firefighters an hour to free him, finally succeeding by breaking the seat apart.

WTH? How does this even happen?

[PalmStriker]

:) Chinese finger puzzle technology.

[GeneChing]

:) Chinese finger puzzle technology. um...what part of this boy is stuck in the finger trap then? :eek:


Mouthing Off by Andrew Sun
How a bad toilet can ruin a good meal in a restaurant: some of my Hong Kong hygiene horrors (https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/2187711/how-bad-toilet-can-ruin-good-meal-restaurant-some-my-hong-kong)
You may expect rough toilet facilities in cheap and cheerful restaurants, but not in trendy places
Cooks who don’t wash their hands, tiny toilet cubicles and soaking wet stalls are among the common sights in Hong Kong.
Published: 12:48pm, 27 Feb, 2019

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/images/methode/2019/02/27/02323a2e-38d1-11e9-a334-8d034d5595df_image_hires_133757.jpg?itok=LAUpIyFE
You may expect rudimentary facilities at a food market or cheap street restaurant, but not at a high class outlet. Photo: Alamy

It’s a dirty topic that people usually avoid in polite company, but there are some disgusting restaurant bathrooms in this city. You might assume I’m just talking about the hosed-down lavatories of dilapidated cha chaan teng, but no, this applies to restaurants in trendy areas, too.
An establishment might offer incredible food with award-winning glitzy design, but that’s all irrelevant if the toilet won’t flush properly or the bathroom walls look like a chimp went Jackson Pollock with his number one and number two.
Part of the problem is that some restaurants are so small. Owners want to maximise the dining room, so the lavatory ends up tinier than an plane loo. Honestly, some of the mini facilities require you to shift around awkwardly just to close the door. Or the urinal is so close to the sink, splashing is inevitable. Do you really want to wash your hands where someone else’s tinkle has dribbled?
Even if the potty is spacious enough, some are just ridiculously wet everywhere. In public toilets, I assume cleaners are just spraying water all over after using the same mop on every surface. I’ve lost count of the number of occasions when I nearly wiped out after exiting a sopping wet stall and slipped on a restaurant’s smooth hard floor. I can’t even imagine how women deal with such settings while wearing high heels.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2019/02/27/02c179aa-38d1-11e9-a334-8d034d5595df_972x_133757.jpg
A hygienic bathroom makes all the difference to a restaurant experience. Photo: Alamy

The thing is, true gastro connoisseurs say they don’t care about the setting, just as long as the food is good. Agreed. I can overlook a disgusting toilet if a particular dive does some stellar stir-fries. The same way I will accept sitting on a wobbly plastic stool or occasionally be berated by a rude server at the best cheap and cheerful noodle stands. This is the gritty and unpretentious local dining we always promote as counterpoint to Hong Kong’s glitz and glamour.
However I know some people get very uptight about cleanliness. They won’t eat at dai pai dongs or rough looking canteens because they think their hygiene levels are low. Whereas I think outdoor stalls or any place where you can see people prepare the food are likely to be cleaner because you can see everything. Those cooks can’t get away with picking their nose then plating your food.
Don’t let pretty dining room decor fool you. The kitchen you can’t see means the chef can hide his dirty deeds. Believe me, I’ve witnessed some atrocious hygiene by food workers not just at dim sum banquet halls but at posh restaurants.
One example comes straight out of a Seinfeld episode. While relieving myself in the men’s room, I notice someone in a kitchen uniform in another urinal doing the same business. When I finish, I wash my hands as you should: soap, lather, rinse and dry. As I finish up, I notice the uniformed guy quickly run his hand under some water and exit. No soap, no wipe, no nothing. Thank goodness I was at the end of my meal because I would hate to think he would next be handling my main course.
The other major complaint I have with restaurant workers is they often smoke illegally in locked bathroom stalls. As if we couldn’t tell. Is it any surprise so many Hongkongers prefer to dine in fancy hotels where creature comfort standards are set to a higher level. For a slight (or maybe not so slight) premium on the menu and drinks, we’ll gladly pay if it means a big, clean washroom and an attendant who hands you fresh paper towels. Bon appétit!

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Hygiene horrors of restaurant bathrooms

[wayold]

I was tempted to put this in our Shaolin toilets thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50637) but this ain't Shaolin, or our Eating bitter in China thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65261), but this is sort of the converse. There's also our Low-flow toilets cause stink in San Francisco thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59880), but this is China.

Anyway, we have a lot of folks here who have traveled or are even traveling in China now, so I figured this would be a pretty easy thread to get rolling here.

Just can't believe, the 2nd photo. I am 99% sure that it's just a remain of a dismantled public toilet with its previously-existing walls and roofs removed...

[GeneChing]

13 years? Do they even shoot?


Chinese man jailed for making ‘gun’ toilet handles will face retrial (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3005578/chinese-man-jailed-making-gun-toilet-handles-will-face-retrial)
Facts were unclear and evidence insufficient in the original judgment last September, court rules
Defence challenges method used by police to identify the handles as guns
Laurie Chen
Published: 5:40pm, 10 Apr, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/04/10/6eda3cfc-5b69-11e9-bbcc-84176f6dd1e7_image_hires_174027.jpg?itok=R6sacvsj
Prosecutors said Jiang designed the flush handles to mimic air gun grips. Photo: Thepaper.cn

A man in northeast China who last year was sentenced to 13 years in prison for manufacturing toilet handles that looked like gun parts is facing retrial after a provincial court ruled that the original evidence was insufficient.
The Anhui Provincial High People’s Court ruled in a second-instance hearing on March 13 that the “facts were unclear and evidence insufficient” in the original judgment last September, when Jiang Zhiping was convicted of illegally manufacturing, trading and storing guns, Jiang’s relatives told news outlet Thepaper.cn on Tuesday.
As a result, the High Court has sent the case back to Anhui’s Fuyang Intermediate People’s Court for retrial.
Jiang, a designer of plastic household items from Jiangxi province, was responsible for the design and production of a high-pressure toilet flushing handle that was identified as a gun part by police who were investigating a network of gun sellers across China.
Police traced the supply network through an air gun that was discovered in a village near Fuyang in April 2016 and confiscated 3,870 toilet handles from a warehouse owned by Jiang.
Jiang’s sister, Jiang Xiaoqin, told Thepaper.cn that the toilet handle was the first patented item he had designed, and that patent certificates were presented by his defence lawyer in the first trial.
Prosecutors said Jiang created the design to mimic an air gun grip after researching it online, and said that the handle was identical in shape and function to a sample gun shown in court.
However, Jiang’s defence lawyer for his retrial, Yang Weiping, told Thepaper.cn that the method used to identify it as a gun was faulty, and not in line with Ministry of Public Security guidelines.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/04/10/6ea913a2-5b69-11e9-bbcc-84176f6dd1e7_1320x770_174027.jpg
Jiang’s patent documentation for his design. Photo: Thepaper.cn

Jiang requested that his toilet handle be re-identified in the appeal.
Jiang’s family have received a statement from Fuyang police saying that they did not have Ministry of Public Security guidelines on gun appraisal between July 2016 and April 2017.
A date for the retrial has yet to be set.

THREADS
Chinese toilets (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65867-Chinese-toilets)
I will never understand China (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?62318-I-will-never-understand-China)

[Jimbo]

Nothing to do with Chinese toilets, but...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9-r3Hh3ey0

[GeneChing]

Great story tho...worthy of a Hallmark movie....or maybe something more BBC. :p

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/720x405/p07nhmhk.jpg


Blenheim Palace gold toilet theft 'like heist movie' (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-49713947)
16 September 2019

The theft of a solid gold toilet from Blenheim Palace has echoes of "a heist movie", the stately home's chief executive has said.

Dominic Hare said artist Maurizio Cattelan was "mortified" by the theft from the stately home in Oxfordshire.

Valued at $6m (£4.8m), the artwork has not been found since Saturday's early-morning raid at Blenheim - the home of the Duke of Marlborough.

A 66-year-old man who was arrested on Saturday has been released on bail.

Mr Hare told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "You always take a risk in showing art. The safest thing to do with art, I suppose, is to put it in a strongroom and lock the door.

"We think that risk is worth taking."

The fully working toilet - entitled America - went on show at the 18th Century palace on Thursday as part of an exhibition by the Italian artist.

Visitors had been invited to book three-minute slots to use the throne for its intended purpose.

Police believe a gang of thieves using at least two vehicles was responsible for the theft.

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/9562/production/_108824283_maurizio-cattelan-original-new.e93a4c5b678610a719000d69ac47f381.jpg
BLENHEIM PALACE
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan says he hopes the theft is a "kind of Robin Hood-inspired action"

In an email to the New York Times, Cattelan said: "'America' was the 1% for the 99%, and I hope it still is.

"I want to be positive and think the robbery is a kind of Robin Hood-inspired action.

"I promise I have an alibi for the night."

Last month Edward Spencer-Churchill - half-brother of the Duke of Marlborough - said the toilet would not "be the easiest thing to nick".

The burglary caused "significant damage and flooding" because the toilet was plumbed into the building, police said.

Mr Hare said it was the "first theft of this type in living memory" from the stately home - the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill - adding it had "a sophisticated security system".

"But the truth is, this has happened and we are now challenged to look hard at ourselves and improve again," he said.

Blenheim Palace, a World Heritage Site, was shut on Saturday after the burglary but reopened on Sunday.

Mr Hare said the artwork - famously offered to US President Donald Trump in 2017 - was a "comment on the American dream".

"[It's] the idea of something that's incredibly precious and elite being made accessible, potentially to everybody, as we all need to go when we need to go," he said.

"And it's ironic, really, that two days after this was made accessible, it was snatched away."

Mr Hare said it was "not out of the question [the toilet] would be melted down" by the thieves.

Police have urged anyone with information to contact them.

Det Insp Jess Milne said: "Investigations are continuing and it is our main priority to locate the stolen item and the offenders involved."

[GeneChing]

https://techgrabyte.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The-New-AI-Toilets-Will-Scan-Your-Poop-To-Diagnose-Your-Ailments-800x445.jpg

The New AI Toilets Will Scan Your Poop To Diagnose Your Ailments (https://techgrabyte.com/ai-toilets-scan-poop-diagnose-ailments/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=socialnetwork&fbclid=IwAR1Fgbnj6t5ytS2FQ1Tq0Mn19GQxHZ3eIi7sH12A3 YTq6P9S20wGGC1_yZ4)
Navin Bondade

Well, it’s sound weird but in the upcoming future, your toilet will be your mini doctor. A company called Micron is developing a smart artificial intelligence-powered toilet that will reportedly be able to diagnose your state of health and risk of disease by analyzing your bodily waste.

The major goal of this technology is to analyze bowel movements and recognize the signs for health issues or ailments early on. This information will also use to understand early symptoms of certain diseases.

“Medicine is going toward precision medicine and precision health,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, he is the Chief Executive of Memory Chipmaker Micron Technology.

“Imagine smart toilets in the future that will be analyzing human waste in real-time every day. You don’t need to be going to visit a physician every six months. If any sign of disease starts showing up, you’ll be able to catch it much faster because of urine analysis and stool analysis.” he added.

The smart toilet is able to perform, fecal analysis and urine analysis. These are two of the most commonly-used conventional tests to determine the well-being of a patient.

The fecal analysis help diagnose certain conditions affecting the digestive tract and the urine analysis is one major way to find certain illnesses in their earlier stages like Kidney disease, Liver disease, Diabetes.

By analyzing human waste in real-time, it could be possible to generate true improvements for a person’s health care. The researcher believes that having their stool analyzed could be an excellent way that they could make sure they can have any signs of trouble spotted early on.

You will surprise to know that the poop is more made up of bacterias than old food. Around 50 to 80 % of your poop is actually bacteria that had been in your intestines and was then ejected as food passed through.

Solid and liquid bodily waste is made up of all kinds of byproducts from bodily processes such as digestion and detoxification. The concentrations of these chemical compounds can show if there is anything amiss.

Certain precursors for disease or serious ailment can be caught in stool samples.

With built-in stool analysis within a toilet, it’s possible that urine and stool analysis could take place in an ongoing sense leading to massive improvements in health and wellness for people worldwide.

The medicine on board with one of these toilets could have a series of sensors that could spot patterns. The AI systems can spot everything from diabetes symptoms to checking into the cause of various dietary concerns.

Having an ongoing analysis or diagnosis could take place onboard any smartphone or tablet device, and this could lead to people taking an active role in their health almost every day.

The company currently developing this technology has a high demand for some of its other products.

They are currently developing everything from hand-held smartphones to large-scale data centers which can all be of use for building the future of their technology.

As future smartphone devices continue to be developed in this system, it could be only a matter of time before we start to see revolutionary healthcare improvements from appliances that we would regularly use every day.

The interesting AI and diagnosis technology can help to improve the ability of any diagnosis and for making sure that we can consciously take a better approach to our healthcare no matter what our habits typically dictate.

Below are a few surprising facts about poop

Along with landing on the moon, Neil Armstrong also left four bags of poop behind.

Bill Gates helped fund the creation of “Poop Water,” which is feces turned into water.

You can see corn in your poop because of cellulose

The ideal poop is a “continuous log” and sinks to the bottom of the toilet

Poop is brown because of dead red blood cells and bile

Gut bacteria and plant fiber are essential for a good poop

I would be happier using this once a year than doing that annual occult fecal test.

[GeneChing]

Shanghai’s new “smart” bathrooms will send out warnings if you take too long pooping (https://shanghai.ist/2019/10/18/shanghais-new-smart-bathrooms-will-send-out-warnings-if-you-take-too-long-pooping/?fbclid=IwAR2bZcoo2kC2iMttioH6CfV9uelGaVsmTSyqO4w4 d0dJsBZ9J4NClYbK7bs)
You have 15 minutes to do your business and get out
by Alex Linder October 18, 2019 in News

https://i1.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/smart-toilet4.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1

The future has come to Shanghai and in that future you shouldn’t spend too long in the bathroom.

Around 150 “smart” public bathrooms have been built around town. These facilities boast a number of high-tech features allowing for monitoring and controlling the odor in the air, tabulating the number of visitors, and adjusting water levels.

However, the feature that is attracting the most notice is the one that keeps track of how long an individual has been inside a stall. If they spend longer than 15 minutes in there, a worker is alerted to check up on them.

https://i1.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/smart-toilet3.jpg?w=800&ssl=1

The smart bathrooms are China’s latest advance in public toilet tech. Previously, the country has creeped everyone out with the installation of face recognition toilet paper dispensers at some restrooms to prevent the nationwide scourge of toilet paper theft.

[Images via Shanghai Observer]

This is too much. When bots limit the time you spend pooping, we've lost to Big Brother and Skynet is next.

[GeneChing]

Happy world toilet day!



choose your action
this world toilet day (https://www.worldtoiletday.info/), play your part in ensuring no one is left behind without sanitation.

Learn
read eye-opening micro stories and download the factsheet

share
use our social media assets to generate debate

act
attend or hold an event and use our resources to make change happen

what is world toilet day?

https://www.worldtoiletday.info/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/toilet-illustration-alpha-clean.png

world toilet day, celebrated on 19th november every year, is about inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve sustainable development goal (sdg) 6, which promises sanitation for all by 2030.

Established by the world toilet organization in 2001, world toilet day was made an official un day in 2013. Un-water leads a taskforce of international agencies to campaign around a common theme.

Toilets, health and human dignity
a world toilet day message from sadhguru
“as it is important to have access to food and water, it is equally important for a human being to have access to a clean toilet to bring health, well-being and to establish human dignity.”

https://www.worldtoiletday.info/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/wtd2019_social_media_card_square_sadhguru_vs2_14no v2019-1.jpg

leaving no one behind

a toilet is not just a toilet. It’s a life-saver, dignity-protector and opportunity-maker.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, sanitation is your human right. And yet, today, 4.2 billion people live without safely managed sanitation.

How can anyone lift themselves out of poverty without sanitation? We must expand access to safe toilets and leave no one behind.

Keyfacts
4.2 billion people live without safely managed sanitation – more than half the global population.

673 million people still practise open defecation worldwide.

Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces.

Inadequate sanitation is estimated to cause 432,000 diarrhoeal deaths every year and is a major factor in diseases such as intestinal worms and trachoma.

Children under the age of five living in countries affected by protracted conflict are, on average, nearly 20 times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases caused by a lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene than by direct violence. (unicef 2019)

[GeneChing]

...takes me 90 seconds just to wash my hands...


Out in 90 seconds: female urinals will halve peeing time for women, says Hong Kong Toilet Association (https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3040824/out-90-seconds-female-urinals-will-halve-peeing)
The group says urinals, rather than new cubicles, are the answer to cutting the perennially long queues outside women’s washrooms
However, it says there’s a lack of interest by builders to conduct a pilot test of the proposal
SCMP
Kathleen Magramo
Victor Ting
Published: 8:08pm, 5 Dec, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/12/05/7783e7ca-1736-11ea-9462-4dd25a5b0420_image_hires_212826.jpg?itok=DDeTHdgr&v=1575552518
A user demonstrates the female urinal. Photo: KY Cheng

An industry group on Thursday called for female urinals to be built in Hong Kong’s public toilets to help the city combat the long waiting times faced by women to access a loo.
According to the Hong Kong Toilet Association, such facilities would cut peeing time to just 1.5 minutes, compared with the usual time of two to three minutes, and thus help to shorten queues outside women’s washrooms.
Urinals would also take up only half the space of a full cubicle, the group said, adding that the facilities could include disposable paper urine funnels to help women aim accurately, and a shelf above for bags to be hung.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/05/7bba34b6-1736-11ea-9462-4dd25a5b0420_972x_212826.jpg
Peggy Tsui, the honorary secretary of the Hong Kong Toilet Association, demonstrates how to use a female urinal. Photo: KY Cheng

“It is much more feasible to install additional female urinals than to build new cubicles, especially in smaller and older public toilets,” said the group’s vice-president Henry Hung Chi Kuen, who has a 40-year career in plumbing engineering.
However, Hung said there was a lack of interest by universities to design such a facility, and the group was also struggling to find organisations, such as event organisers, willing to conduct a pilot test of female urinals in the city.
In Germany and France, female urinals are available in temporary lavatories at events such as music festivals, but not in permanent facilities, the association said.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/12/05/79237bc2-1736-11ea-9462-4dd25a5b0420_1320x770_212826.jpg
A paper funnel for a female urinal. Photo: KY Cheng

The association’s recommendation on Thursday came a week after the Audit Commission released a report saying that the city’s public toilets fell short of the government’s guidelines designed to ensure that for every one public toilet compartment for men, there should be two for women. The ratio was instead found to be 1.3.
The commission’s report also found the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department was not repairing defects in public restrooms quickly enough.
In February, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po had announced a HK$600 million (US$76.5 million) plan to revamp 240 public loos, about one-third of the city’s toilets, over five years.
To date, only 48 public washrooms have been renovated, a statistic slammed by the toilet association.
“At this rate, it would take 16 years to upgrade all of the toilets in the city. I hope we can speed up the process for all public toilets to a timeline of five years,” Hung said.
Why Hong Kong’s public washrooms have been dubbed ‘reservoirs of drug-resistant bacteria’
The toilet association – which includes plumbers, engineers and sanitary goods distributors – recently completed an inspection on 160 public washrooms across the city which found unsanitary levels of hygiene at some locations.
The dirtiest toilet was found to be at Pei Ho Street Market in Sham Shui Po, where the floor was slippery and had a strong odour caused by a blocked flushing system, Hung said.
The group used a “CASH” criterion – a mnemonic which stands for “Comfort, Accessibility, Safety and Hygiene” – to carry out its inspection.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said public toilet renovations were ongoing, and not all of them required the same level of work, such as newly built ones.

Hold the phone...there's a Hong Kong Toilet Association?

[GeneChing]

Coffee machines, facial recognition are features of China’s ‘smart’ public toilet revolution


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j8xoOjfaYA

[GeneChing]

This reminds me of that Wayne Wang movie - Life Is Cheap... But Toilet Paper Is Expensive (1989)



Coronavirus: Chinese toilet paper makers say there’s ‘plenty of stock’ after panic buying in Hong Kong (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3051462/coronavirus-chinese-toilet-paper-makers-say-theres-plenty-stock)
Mainland manufacturers say supply hasn’t been affected and there hasn’t been a noticeable increase in orders from over the border
Researcher says city’s supply is ‘never a problem’ and stockpiling was driven by fear
SCMP
Guo Rui and Mandy Zuo in Shanghai
Published: 10:26pm, 19 Feb, 2020

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2020/02/19/868a2e0a-5318-11ea-8948-c9a8d8f9b667_image_hires_224643.JPG?itok=G_nwIVsj&v=1582123609
A shopper stocks up on toilet rolls at a supermarket in Hong Kong on February 5 amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Nora Tam

Guangzhou lawyer Ding Yaqing just could not understand it when she saw images of people panic buying toilet paper over the border in Hong Kong because of the coronavirus outbreak.
“I saw [on the news] that Hong Kong people are stockpiling toilet paper,” Ding said. “But why? How could Hong Kong ever run out?”
In Haizhu district where Ding lives, the supermarkets and convenience stores are well stocked with the bathroom necessity, and there are fewer shoppers around because of measures to control the spread of the deadly virus.
For Ding, who has been working from home like many people in mainland China and Hong Kong amid the outbreak, running out of toilet paper is not a concern – she can buy it online.
“I can always order it online and my understanding is that many manufacturers have resumed production, so there is really nothing to worry about,” she said, referring to the extended break after the Lunar New Year holiday because of the epidemic.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2020/02/19/83c37d70-5318-11ea-8948-c9a8d8f9b667_1320x770_224643.JPG
Hongkongers have been panic buying toilet paper in recent weeks. Photo: Reuters

Toilet paper has become a highly sought after item in Hong Kong in recent weeks, with shoppers emptying supermarket shelves of the product and stockpiling tissues, disinfectant and liquid hand soap as the city braces for more cases of the virus.
The new coronavirus strain, which causes a disease now known as Covid-19, has killed more than 2,000 people and infected over 74,000, since the outbreak began in December. In Hong Kong, 63 cases have been reported and two people have died from the pneumonia-like illness.
The panic buying was apparently driven by a fear that Hong Kong would close its border with Shenzhen, disrupting the supply of daily necessities like toilet paper as mainland China struggles to control the outbreak.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHNER686Ngk&feature=emb_logo
Armed gang steals 600 toilet rolls as panic buying continues in Hong Kong amid coronavirus outbreak
continued next post

[GeneChing]

A spokesman for Hengan Group, a leading personal hygiene products manufacturer based in Fujian province, said even with the spike in demand from Hong Kong and the Lunar New Year break, production levels were normal.
“Our supply of toilet paper for Hong Kong has remained stable and we have plenty of stock despite the Lunar New Year holiday,” said a public relations manager for Hengan, surnamed Chen.
“We’re not changing our sales strategy [because of what’s happened in Hong Kong],” she said, adding that the company – whose toilet paper brands include Pino – had not seen any noticeable increase in orders from the city in recent weeks.
Guangdong-based Ho-Comfort, another personal hygiene products maker, also said the run on toilet paper in Hong Kong had not had any impact on its business.
Liu Yuanquan, a vice-president of the company, said while production had been stalled by the slow return to work after the Lunar New Year break, sales to Hong Kong were normal.
“Our production capacity is down by half because fewer workers have returned but our supply to Hong Kong has not been affected because the city only accounts for about 10 per cent of our output,” Liu said.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZn6niKo0M&feature=emb_logo
China’s delivery workers risk infection as online sales surge amid coronavirus outbreak

Guo Yukuan, a senior researcher with the China Society of Economic Reform, a state-backed think tank, said the panic buying was irrational.
“This is purely driven by panic and stress,” Guo said. “China’s production capacity [for toilet paper] can supply not just Hong Kong but the whole world, and as a free port, Hong Kong can always import from other sources,” he said. “Hong Kong’s supply is never a problem and the market will eventually adjust itself.”
Purchase the China AI Report 2020 brought to you by SCMP Research and enjoy a 20% discount (original price US$400). This 60-page all new intelligence report gives you first-hand insights and analysis into the latest industry developments and intelligence about China AI. Get exclusive access to our webinars for continuous learning, and interact with China AI executives in live Q&A. Offer valid until 31 March 2020.




Guo Rui
Guo Rui is a China reporter covering elite politics, domestic policies, environmental protection, civil society, and social movement. She is also a documentary filmmaker, recording modern Chinese history and social issues through film.

Mandy Zuo
Mandy Zuo joined the Post in 2010 and reports on China. She has covered a wide range of subjects including policy, rural issues, culture and society. She worked in Beijing before relocating to Shanghai in 2014.

THREADS
Chinese toilets (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65867-Chinese-toilets)
COVID-19 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71666-Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia)

[GeneChing]

Why America Is Losing The Toilet Race (https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2020/02/25/808791622/why-america-is-losing-the-toilet-race?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR15L4R1imzyIjrvHk9S3wk4Br10bEKndutM5x2lP 278JX59KMjtSytJ6oc)
Planet Money
February 25, 20206:30 AM ET
GREG ROSALSKY

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/02/24/neorest_nx_toilet_xray_5x8-1ef4a905a2045b47f719b1134c027cccc93cede7-s1200-c85.jpg
Toto

I just got back from my first trip to Japan, and I'm now in love with the country. The ramen, yakitori and sushi. The gorgeous volcanoes. The fascinating people and culture. But of all the things I fell in love with, there's one that I can't stop thinking about: the toilets.

Japanese toilets are marvels of technological innovation. They have integrated bidets, which squirt water to clean your private parts. They have dryers and heated seats. They use water efficiently, clean themselves and deodorize the air, so bathrooms actually smell good. They have white noise machines, so you can fill your stall with the sound of rain for relaxation and privacy. Some even have built-in night lights and music players. It's all customizable and controlled by electronic buttons on a panel next to your seat.

In Japan, these high-tech toilets are everywhere: hotels, restaurants, bus stations, rest stops and around 80% of homes. It's glorious. Then, I come back to the United States, and our toilets are stuck in the age of dirty coal mines and the horse and buggy. They basically have one feature: flush. No heated seats. No nice smells and sounds. No sanitizing blasts of liquid. It's like cleaning your dishes without water. It's gross. And it got me thinking: Why can't we have high-tech toilets too?

Most of the toilets in Japan are made by a company called Toto, which started the high-tech toilet revolution in 1980 when it unveiled the Washlet, a first-of-its-kind electric toilet seat with an integrated bidet. Toto has been innovating on the design ever since. So I reached out to the company. It put me in touch with Bill Strang, the president of corporate strategy and e-commerce at Toto USA.

https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/02/24/washlet-siii-original-model---open-3x3_custom-cd4321a478d632c7b4941a7965ef6d76c81a538a-s500-c85.jpg
The original Washlet
Toto

"U.S. toilets are effectively bedpans with a drain," says Strang. Strang is originally from the Midwest, and he joined Toto 17 years ago. That's when he had his first experience with the Washlet bidet, and it was much like mine. It began with "apprehension, a little bit of angst," he says. But then he pushed the spray button and had a joyous sensation. The bathroom would never be the same.

The Washlet has been for sale in the U.S. since 1990, but it never took off. While Toto has found success with its traditional porcelain products (and manufactures them in the U.S. and Mexico), the Washlet remains a novelty, found mostly at some high-end hotels, showrooms and Japanese restaurants.

Economists spend a lot of time analyzing how and why technology spreads from one place to another. They call it "technology diffusion." One study looked at the spread of 20 technologies across 161 countries over the last 140 years, and it found evidence that geographic distance significantly slows the spread of new gadgets. It fits with the pattern we see with high-tech toilets. Strang says that after Japan, high-tech toilets have mostly spread to nations along the Pacific Rim.

But the speed of technology dispersion has sped up significantly in the modern era. Another study found that the spread of technologies developed after 1925 has been three times faster than the spread of those developed before 1925. That makes sense, with modern transportation and communication and all. But it has been many decades since the dawn of the new toilet era in Japan, and we are still mostly sitting on old-fashioned porcelain here. "Sometimes a technology never diffuses in a given country, even if it is superior to existing technologies," says Dartmouth College economist Diego Comin, who co-authored the study.

In the end, the biggest barrier to the toilet revolution is probably not distance but cultural mores. The Japanese, Strang says, highly prize bathing, hygiene and cleanliness. When I was in Tokyo and Sapporo, it was common to see Japanese people wearing masks to prevent the spread of germs. When you go out to dinner there, you're often given a hot, moist towel or wet wipe so your hands are clean before you eat. The streets and subways are spotless, and hand-sanitizing dispensers are everywhere. It felt much different from back home.

For the last five years, Strang says, Toto has been featuring its technological innovations at the Consumer Electronics Show, and they've made a splash. The company showcased products such as its glistening Neorest NX2 dual flush toilet. It's got the standard bidet, a dryer and a heated seat with temperature control. But it also has a "tornado flush system," a "bacteria-neutralizing ultraviolet light," a "titanium dioxide-fired toilet bowl," a remote control, a toilet seat that automatically opens and closes and an air deodorizer. It costs $17,300. Other Toto toilets and seats cost much less, but the lofty price of Japanese-style toilets are another reason that they might not be catching on.

Comin says he has considered buying a Japanese-style toilet, but, he adds, "they are so darn expensive." He believes getting Americans to embrace them would require "significant investments to educate the public about the new product, marketing (for example, a commercial with George Clooney using a Japanese toilet) and bringing down the price by mass producing."

But Strang remains optimistic about the future of toilets in America. "There hasn't been a demand for this type of product in the United States," Strang says. "But there wasn't a demand for Steve Jobs to make a product called the iPhone."

Don't ever get me wrong. I'm proud to be an American. That's why I'm so saddened when we fall behind on stuff like this. :(

[heavens000]

In my house, the toilet is the best place. I'm ready to spend most of my life there. I just fitted it out, installed an outlet, as well as new Column radiators (https://www.radiatoroutlet.co.uk/traditional-radiators), which make a big difference in the design of the toilet, making it more modern. All that's left is to install a minibar and hire a butler to stand at the entrance and serve the paper. Seriously, it really is the only place where I can get away from everyone and relax completely with a coffee and a cigarette.

[GeneChing]

‘Toilet revolution’ benefits the most vulnerable in China, reflects CPC’s focus on people’s well-being: expert (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202208/1274044.shtml)
By GT staff reporter
Published: Aug 28, 2022 08:49 PM

https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2022/2022-08-28/0fa4e75b-d2da-4fb7-b6e5-f52ec718c3dd.jpeg
Construction workers build public toilets in Ping'an village in Dongyang, East China's Zhejiang Province, on December 19, 2018. Photo: IC

In recent years, the "toilet revolution" has continued to advance in China, greatly improving the quality of people's life and contributing to the country's development of ecological civilization and rural revitalization.

"The toilet issue is not only related to the improvement of the tourist environment, but also a key barometer of social advancement. More importantly, it reflects the importance the Party attaches to human rights," Lou Xiaoqi, executive president of the Capital Civilizational Development Foundation, a Beijing-based NGO, told the Global Times.

Lou, also the president of magazine Civilization, has promoted a toilet revolution in Beijing since 1993. "China's delicacies are world-renowned, but China's public toilets are notorious" in the 1980s and 1990s, these "buzzwords" about China's toilets were still fresh in Lou's mind.

It has been more than 30 years since China started the "toilet revolution," and Beijing was among the first to initiate the campaign.

During this period, as China's economy developed rapidly, cities expanded at breakneck speed, and the construction of new countryside advanced by leaps and bounds, but the small problem of adequate sanitation still bothers many domestic residents and foreign visitors.

The toilet revolution is more a systemic issue concerning the respect for people, the care for vulnerable groups such as women, children and the elderly, and the development of today's civilization, Lou told Global Times.

Nowadays, modern toilets in the country are gradually matching up with the influence and status of China as the second largest economy in the world.

Odor-free and convenient for the disabled, today's toilets in most Chinese cities are equipped with compartments and provide toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

As women's toilets are continually being expanded across tourist sites, and mother-and-baby rooms are made more available, and high technologies are more widely adopted, every aspect of progress in toilets reflects the focus of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on the most basic and detailed aspects of people's well-being, Lou said.

"This means that China has reached a relatively advanced stage of socioeconomic development with the ability to protect vulnerable groups, pay attention to the core shortcomings of livelihood issues, and make sure vulnerable groups can enjoy the fruits of modern development and public resources equally," Lou said. "This is the basic logic behind the CPC's commitment to protecting human rights."

In the future, the efforts of China's rural construction and toilet revolution won't cease but require further innovation. By actively adopting new technologies and materials, China should construct specialized facilities that truly fit in local with conditions in a more scientific way, he noted.
Anyone know what toilet revolution is in mandarin?
厕所革命 Cèsuǒ gémìng?
I was told cesuo is a crude way of saying toilet but this is what googtrans came up with...

[GeneChing]

Going potty: toilet mania in Hong Kong and the city’s US$3.5 million solid gold ‘throne’ built as a shrine to hero of Russian revolution (https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/article/3204108/going-potty-toilet-mania-hong-kong-and-citys-us35-million-solid-gold-throne-built-shrine-hero)
As Hong Kong names its best and worst public conveniences, we reflect on city’s golden toilet bowl built in honour of Russian Bolshevik, Vladimir Lenin
The solid-gold ‘throne’ was housed in a golden complex built with two tonnes of the precious metal worth a whopping US$38 million

Kylie Knott
Published: 2:00pm, 24 Dec, 2022

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Following the recent unveiling of Hong Kong’s best and worst public conveniences, we reflect on a record-breaking solid-gold toilet bowl which used to be a top tourist attraction in the city. Photo: SCMP composite
Hong Kong recently unveiled a list of its best – and worst – public toilets, with the Peak Tower, a shopping complex popular with tourists, winning the gold medal.
But the city has another gold standard loo-related achievement, Hong Kong holds the Guinness World Record for the most expensive toilet bowl, a golden creation worth HK$27 million (US$3.5 million).
The solid-gold “throne” formed part of a gaudy jewellery showroom built using two tonnes of the precious metal which carried an overall price tag US$38 million.
Swisshorn Gold Palace, which was also known as The Golden House and the Hall of Gold, was in the city’s Kowloon area and it boasted a floor-to-ceiling gold design, including a gold horse-drawn chariot, gold chandeliers and life-size gold statues. Even the cutlery and crockery was gold.
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The late Lam Sai-wing, former chairman of Hang Fung Gold Technology Group, sits in his US$38 million golden showroom in Hong Kong’s Kowloon area. Photo: Dickson Lee
But behind a door with engraved pharaohs, Greek gods and harp-playing angels, stood the palace’s crown jewel: a fully functional solid gold toilet.
After opening to the public in September 2006, it attracted thousands of visitors a day, mostly tourists from mainland China. The venue was also hired out for weddings and corporate events.
The man with the Midas touch behind the project was entrepreneur Lam Sai-wing who moved to Hong Kong from Guangdong province in southern China when he was 21 and went on to become chairman of the jewellery-making company Hang Fung Gold Technology.
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The now no longer complex featured gold furniture, gold toilets and gold ceiling relief sculptures, using up a total of two tonnes of the precious metal. Photo: Dickson Lee
Lam wanted to build a shrine to his boyhood hero, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, who had said that after the victory of socialism, gold should be used to make toilets.
“It has been my dream to build this since I was 16 years old. Now it has come true,” said Lam in a story published in the Post in 2002.
“I’m a capitalist with socialist principles,” he said at the time, adding: “This toilet is for the public, I wouldn’t have one at home.”
But in 2008, the economy - and Lam’s company - was hit by the fallout from the global financial crisis.
What wasn’t suffering, however, was the price of gold: in 2008 it had reached an all-time record of US$1,011 dollars an ounce, a rise of more than 50 per cent in just nine months.
https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/12/21/4a4c3e58-63a8-4352-acc8-272b52ff165b_bd10ae47.jpg
Hong Kong is home to some superb public conveniences. The Peak Tower Public Toilets won the gold medal of the best public convenience of the year for 2022. Photo: Dickson Lee
Media reports said Lam was unable to resist the rush, and started melting down pieces from his beloved palace, raising cash to fuel his ambitious growth plans in China. He was reported to have said that he would never melt down his cherished commode.
But it all came crashing down on September 26, 2008, when Lam died suddenly at his luxury flat in Hong Kong. He was just 53.
“People close to Lam were taken by surprise because he had appeared healthy and played tennis recently,” read his obituary, published in the Post the following day.
The golden palace shut its doors. His death also shed light on the dire state of his company’s finances.
But the drama did not end there: several company executives were accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of gold bars.
A year after Lam’s death, the debt-ridden company was wound up. What happened to the golden toilet remains a mystery.

CONVERSATIONS
Kylie Knott
After many years with the Post, Kylie Knott found her calling on the culture and lifestyle desk. She writes about the environment, animal welfare, food and the arts.
The mystery of the golden throne might make a good Knives Out threequel...

[Victor708S]

Chinese toilets are the comfiest and cheapest I guess

[GeneChing]

China has had flush toilets for 2400 years and yet finding one in China is still a challenge? :p


2,400-year-old flush toilet discovered in China could be one of the oldest ever (https://www.cnn.com/style/article/china-oldest-toilet-remains-discovered-intl-hnk/index.html)
Updated 21st February 2023

https://dynaimage.cdn.cnn.com/cnn/q_auto,w_1337,c_fill,g_auto,h_752,ar_16:9/http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.cnn.com%2Fcnnnext%2Fdam%2Fassets% 2F230221081411-china-toilet-file-021923.jpg
The unearthed flush lavatory, which is comprised of a toilet bowl and sewage system, excavated from the Yueyang site in Xi'an, China.
Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Written by Tara Subramaniam, CNN
Hong Kong
Archeologists in China have found the remains of what may be the world's oldest known flush toilet.
Broken parts of the 2,400-year-old lavatory, as well as a bent flush pipe, were unearthed last summer by a research team among ancient palace ruins in the Yueyang archaeological site in the central city of Xi'an, according to Chinese state media.
Details of the find were released last week, sparking widespread interest in China and offering a rare insight into the privileged and comparatively advanced world of the country's ancient ruling elite.
Described by researchers as a "luxury object," the toilet was thought to have been located inside the palace, with a pipe leading to an outdoor pit, according to state-owned China Daily.
Liu Rui, a researcher at the Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who was part of the excavation team, told state media the toilet would have likely been reserved for high-ranking officials during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the later Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). He added that servants would likely have poured water into the toilet bowl every time it was used.
"The flush toilet is concrete proof of the importance the ancient Chinese attached to sanitation," Liu said, adding that there were very few records of indoor toilets in ancient times.
Archaeologists uncover ancient tombs of wealthy Chinese clan
Access to clean, flush toilets remain an issue in parts of modern China. Early in his tenure, Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised to "revolutionize" the country's restrooms, as part of efforts to improve rural hygiene.
"The toilet issue is no small thing, it's an important aspect of building civilized cities and countryside," Xi said in an article in the state-owned People's Daily in 2018. "This work should be advanced as a specific task of rural revitalization and such shortcomings that affect the quality of people's life should be filled with great efforts."
Prior to the newly announced discovery, the invention of the first flush toilet was widely credited to English courtier John Harington, who supposedly installed one for Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century, though 4,000-year-old drainage systems that might have been connected with toilets have been found in northwest India.
The ruins from Yueyang, the former capital of Qin State and later the first capital of the Han Dynasty, were discovered in the 1980s. The recent find is part of a broader effort to understand ancient Chinese dynasties, including how people lived and how their cities were constructed, the Institute said in a statement announcing the discoveries.
Archaeologists are now analyzing soil samples collected from the toilet in hopes of finding out what people ate during that time, according to China Daily.

Top image caption: The unearthed flush lavatory, which is comprised of a toilet bowl and sewage system, excavated from the Yueyang site in Xi'an, China. Credit: Xinhua/Shutterstock