HK offers mainland lessons for improving toilets’ sanitary standards
Monday Vibes
In November last year President Xi Jinping called for continued efforts to upgrade the nation’s toilets. The process of improving the hygienic standards of public toilets, which initially started in 2015, has been called a “toilet revolution”.
Having traveled around the country, including visiting many rural areas, I feel this “toilet revolution” is very necessary. Many public toilets on the mainland still do not meet modern standards of hygiene and cleanliness. This situation may cause inconvenience or even discomfort to tourists and locals alike.
There is no denying that hygienic standards of toilets on the mainland have seen remarkable improvement in the recent two decades. When I went to Beijing for my university education in late 1990s, many toilets in the old hutongs were nothing but holes on the ground, without basic facilities such as flushing water. Now these shabby toilets in the urban areas of Beijing have all been replaced by ones with flushing water and other modern facilities. However, it is still not uncommon to bump into filthy and stinking toilets in cities on the mainland, sometimes even in fancy new buildings, let alone in rural areas. Apparently there is still a long way to go for the mainland to accomplish the “toilet revolution”.
Hong Kong can serve as a good example for the mainland in improving sanitary standards of toilets. The most important lesson to learn is that maintenance is the key. Hong Kong’s public toilets are generally well maintained and frequently cleaned. Very often you could see dustmen busy working to keep the toilets clean. Therefore basic hygienic standard can be kept even in old toilets. While in many mainland cities, it is not rare to find newly built toilets in disgusting conditions due to poor maintenance and lack of cleaning. Hence, the most crucial thing to do in achieving a successful “toilet revolution” is not building new fancy ones but to keep the toilets always clean by putting more efforts in maintenance. The first step would be to employ more dustmen and increase the frequency of cleaning.
Another convenient fact I found about Hong Kong’s toilets is that many provide a sufficient supply of toilet paper so people using them never need to take their own tissues. But this is not the case in mainland cities, where even toilets in radiant new shopping malls do not always provide toilet paper. Thus people often have to prepare their own tissues when they intend to visit them. It would be a sign of significant progress if mainland toilets could also provide tissues to make it more convenient for people using them.
Of course the government is not the only party responsible to push forward the “toilet revolution”. Equally important is to improve the manners and habits of the public who use the toilets. It is all too common on the mainland to see people not flushing after relieving themselves, randomly throwing toilet paper on the ground or even smoking in toilets. This behavior is much less likely to be found in Hong Kong. Thus it is necessary for authorities on the mainland to launch a publicity campaign to impart basic manners to the public. The change in habits could not be achieved overnight. Only through concerted and persistent efforts from both the government and society can the hygiene standards and comfort of toilets on the mainland catch up with those in Hong Kong.