"FIVE-STAR" TOILETS
The "toilet revolution" has also prompted city authorities to improve toilets in urban areas, where muddy floors, dirty squat toilets and waste paper are common.
Beijing had gone through four "toilet revolutions" in 1965, 1989, 1994 and 2002 to eliminate pit toilets and fees for toilet use as well as renovate public toilets in alleyways. As of 2015, there were 5.77 public toilets per 10,000 people in the city, higher than the national standard of four.
Another "toilet revolution" is planned for the capital over the next five years to improve sanitation and service levels.
Authorities have already announced a plan to build 100 toilets with free WiFi access this year.
The toilets, to be built in the districts of Tongzhou and Fangshan, will also have ATM machines and charging facilities for cellphones and electric vehicles, said Ji Yang, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment.
Baby seats will be installed next to the toilets so mothers can free their hands when nature calls.
The estimated cost of each toilet is between 50,000 and 100,000 yuan.
Urinals for children and barrier-free facilities will be installed in the city's current toilets, together with ventilation and air conditioning systems to ensure a stable temperature of at least 12 degrees Celsius in winter and no higher than 30 degrees Celsius in summer, he said.
In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, authorities have begun to build "five-star" toilets.
The Nan'an District government recently revealed a plan to build 10 such "five-star" public toilets.
According to Liu Jian, deputy director with the district sanitation bureau, the project is aimed at upgrading old toilets in Nan'an while providing "more humane toilet services" to the public.
"The toilets will have WiFi service, free water, first-aid kits, food heating and even mobile phone chargers," Liu said.
Criteria for the rating system were set in 2010, when the Chongqing government issued a guideline to provide the best toilets to the public.
A "five-star" public toilet should "have ornamental qualities" with flower terraces and air-conditioners, among other amenities. All rated toilets should be free to the public, the guideline said.
The Nan'an District government put six "five-star" public toilets into use in 2015, with another 10 under construction, according to the local government.
Meanwhile, the central government plans to punish "uncivilized behavior" in public toilets, with tourists who misbehave to be added to the country's tourism blacklist, according to Li Shihong, deputy head of the NTA. But he did not elaborate on what "uncivilized behavior" includes or how the plan would be carried out.
