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| On the left is the Ladies room, the right is the Mens |
This is one I've been wanting to do for a while.
Toilets, like light switches, are one of those things that you really don't think about. Everyone has a basic idea of what to expect, and though there are varying degrees of clenliness, you seldom find any surprises. But, as it does in many other aspect of life, China surprises you when you're not expecting it.
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| A Restaurant Restroom |
Most public facilities in China have what is called a squatting toilet. To be fair to China, lots of countries besides the US have squatting toilets. My mother says she first encountered one at a tourist venue in Paris. In Japan they are considered more hygenic than Western-style sitting toilets. No matter how disgusing the toilet, or who might have used it before you, you don't have to put your body in contact with anything someone else had contact with. It doesn't prevent some public toilets from being quite disgusting. But I at least have enjoyed the freedom to not have to worry about seat covers.
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| Foreign Language School Ladies Room |
In most public rest rooms, there are stalls for privacy. At Henan University, there was no such privacy in the stalls. Everyone would squat over a trough, and politely avert their gaze while going about their business. Each teacher had a different level of comfort with these bathrooms. I know for myself, after being a little shy my first few times, I got used to them. Students were often very social and would talk a lot in the bathroom, to an extent greater than I think there would be if the stalls were closed off from each other.
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| Foreign Language School Toilet |
The norm in China is to not flush your toilet paper. Every facility has a waste paper basket to use instead. No ever facility provides toilet paper. Most people carry with them packet of tissues for that purpose. There is enough of a market for tissue packs that you can find packs decorated with popular cartoon characters or otherwise personalized.
But not every toilet is like this. There are some rather classy toilets as well. If you are planning on going to China, and you are not sure how comfortable you would be with public restrooms, I shall pass on some advice from my grandmother: "Relieve yourself at every opportunity."
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| Private Bathroom at Hutang Hostel, Xi'an |
