A 21st-century public toilet in Beijing's Olympic Forest Park. (Photo: SuSanA Secretariat/CC BY 2.0)
Your average toilet serves it purpose. Your average public toilet, even more so. But have you ever wished they could do more?
You may want to keep an eye on Beijing. The city's Municipal Commission recently announced a "Toilet Revolution" that will upend the restroom landscape, fulfilling contemporary needs along with age-old ones, Xinhua News reports.
The city plans to build one hundred toilets this year across the districts of Tonzhou and Fanshan. Along with their regular capabilities, these newcomers will feature free Wifi, charging stations for cell phones and electric vehicles, built-in ATMs, and ventilation systems. Women's restrooms will also have baby seats, "so that mothers can free their hands when nature calls," Xinhua News writes.
This is the fifth Toilet Revolution for Beijing—the first four got rid of pit toilets and entrance fees, and renovated existing facilities. If all goes according to plan, this one will get even more radical, unveiling new energy-saving and deodorization technologies and setting up blacklists to shame unruly toilet-users. As Li Shihong told China Daily earlier this year, "Toilet civilization has a long way to go in China."
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