Xi tells nation to keep advancing ‘toilet revolution’

China should continue to upgrade the country’s toilets as part of its “toilet revolution” aimed at developing domestic tourism and improving people’s quality of life, President Xi Jinping said.

The construction of clean toilets is an important part of pushing urban and rural civilization, and more effort should be made in cities and rural areas to upgrade toilets, Xi said in a recent instruction on the achievements of the toilet revolution in the tourism sector.

Along with the move, China should construct better public facilities and services to boost the tourism industry, Xi said.

Xi has long stressed the importance of the toilet upgrades in enhancing the quality of the tourism industry. Officials are urged to make consistent efforts and take tailored measures to tackle longstanding issues and correct bad habits in tourism.

Local authorities are now more aware of the important role toilets play, believing better toilets are not only beneficial for tourism but can also improve the environment that people work and live in and enhance the overall level of civilization of society.

While visiting rural areas, Xi would ask local residents about the condition of the toilets they use, and he stressed many times that clean toilets for rural residents are important for the building of a “new countryside”.

China launched a toilet revolution across the country in 2015 with an aim to make such facilities cleaner and better regulated.

Toilets in the countryside and at tourist sites previously had a bad reputation.

In rural areas, some toilets were little more than makeshift shelters surrounded by bunches of cornstalks, and some were open pits next to pigsties. At tourist sites, visitors were upset by insufficient toilets, unhygienic conditions and a lack of sanitation workers.

By the end of October this year, China had installed or upgraded 68,000 toilets at tourist destinations, 19.3 percent more than the target number.

The toilet revolution has been expanding gradually from tourist sites to cover the whole country, from cities to rural areas.

The country plans to install or upgrade another 64,000 toilets at tourist destinations from 2018 to 2020, according to an action plan released by the China National Tourism Administration.