ly_wan

I heard some of my friends said that condition of public toilet in China is unsecure & there is no door to be closed up. Is it true? Can somebody give advise on this?

KMLoke

Yes, some public toilets in China are well 'public'. Some folks (tourists) bring along an umbrella to shield their modesty. Would suggest using the hotel toilet first before going out.

divediva

i was in china in 1989...only squatty toilets...best to wear a skirt if you a female...no doors, just small barrier walls, a canal and some had a hand bar to hold onto while squatting.
also, bring toilet paper

MomJC

Hello, we went to China in Sept 05(Beijing, Shanghai, Great wall trip, Suchou, Zhou Zhang) and felt that the toilet is OK and they have doors and locks. We mainly used the ones at the major tourist spots. They are all built as "holes in the ground" type and please make sure to bring your own toilet paper.

bkkmei

generally speaking, if you have to pay a fee at a public toilet, they will be better looked after than a non-fee one. Actually most of them do have dividers and doors, but as above have said, get your leg muscles in practice! You usually have to squat. Some places may even have western style toilets but sometimes it's just more hygenic to squat anyhow! (Sorry - am assuming you are a woman)
Bring hand sanitiser and toilet paper wherever you go. Take advantage of any four/five star hotels around, waltz into their lobby and make full use of their toilet facilities.
Given the time of year this is probably not an issue, but wouldn't wear sandals usually.

quimbymoy

I would say the toilets were not as bad as I thought. I think esp. in Beijing they are building new, western-style toilets (for ex. at the Forbidden City) in time for the Olympics. And many places are using incense in the toilets so that takes care of some of the bad odor.

And the pay toilets are not necessarily cleaner... one that we went to was one of the foulest we encountered, so that the extra cleaning that you pay for may or may not actually happen.

But yes, bring your own t.p. & hand sanitizer always!

someotherguy

The main tourism sites around Beijing have exemplary western-style toilets. There's even a * system: the toilet at Dongyue temple, for example, is a 2* and proudly displays its award on the wall outside.

Marija

We were amazed at the spotless public toilets in many airports and tourist attractions. Certainly not what we expected!

OJudy

If you stay in the major cities, you need not fear the toilets! You will find clean porcelain squat fixtures at most restaurants, department stores, tourist attractions, etc. If you look for the stall with the handicap logo, you will usually find a Western-style fixture, as well. It is a good idea to carry tissues and hand sanitizer with you at all times, however, there are often attendants who provide hand towels for a small fee. I found one of the restrooms at the Temple of Heaven to be extremely "attractive" with marble floors and walls, potted plants, piped in music, a comfortable lounge area, etc. Spotlessly clean too. In fact, I was almost disappointed that I did not find a dirty trough-type toilet anywhere I went!

Patty

I remember the trough toilets with no doors. Can't say I've encountered any in recent years. I'd venture to guess that your friends were either in a rural area or took their trip quite a long time ago.

ly_wan

Thanks for the advises. What I need to do is bring toilet paper & hand sanitiser,since everyone of you brought up this issue. Toilet paper might have short supply in China, I think! But I am sure it is a great country to visit.
Last night, my son woke up from his dream and said, "Mummy, I just came back from China."

Neil_Oz

No, ly_wan, toilet paper isn't in short supply in China - although sometimes you could be forgiven for thinking so, judging by the skimpy toilet rolls supplied in some hotels. Western-style toiletries and cosmetics are readily available in any convenience store.

Actually, we didn't carry around toilet paper or hand sanitiser - just made sure that we made good use of clean toilets wherever they presented themselves. But probably it's not a bad idea in general.

Enjoy your visit - I'm sure your son will remember it for a long time. It's a fascinating country, and I liked the people.

Susan33

In China, you will find that the tiolet area is raised several inches higher than the normal floor. You need to be careful and always look down when you exit the tiolet stalls. It is very easy to trip and/or fall because we Americans are not used to having the stalls higher than the rest of the floor.

Yes, always carry some sort of tissue with you. You cannot count on free tiolet paper everyway.

Patty

<It is very easy to trip and/or fall because we Americans are not used to having the stalls higher than the rest of the floor>

So true. I can attest to a few rather ungraceful exits out of toilet stalls myself

ly_wan

Dear Susan33 & Patty,

Thank you so much.
Have a nice day.

lywan

Kate_W

A friend told me a story about his mother-in-law, who was born in China but moved to North America at least 40 years ago. She was visiting them for a while and he kept seeing her outside in the garden every day, walking for a bit of exercise and then pausing every 10 feet or so, putting a hand on the garden wall and doing a kind of squat exercise. He asked his wife whether his mother-in-law was doing some kind of Chinese martial arts exercise. She said no. Her mother was practising for a trip back to China, where she knew she was going to have to use squat toilets again.