Is the toilets in China really bad?

[Lumbering Ox]

My knees are shot so it isn't a simple matter of "just suck it up princess and squat" although I am working on improving the situation, I am not sure if I can fully fix them.

 

It is something I am concerned about. Double plus so when China can give visitors and even expats digestive issues wink wink nudge nudge on a semi regular [no pun] basis. As for India, I'd be almost terrified to go. Delhi belly plus squat toilets is not a combination I like.

I know an Indian fellow you told me some relations of his parents generation have issues with this also. There is a Bollywood movie where an older fellow lugs a chair with a hole around with him anywhere he goes.

 

So for me it's a bit important that western toilets are available.

 

I've never had a problem here in the Canadas from big cities like Toronto and Montreal to small places. Never seen anyone shoot up either although I am sure it happens. At worse I need to switch stalls.

 

Back around 1980 I used a real life outhouse. Rather that then a squat toilet.

[ChTTay]

In Beijing a lot of the public toilets are better and better. I’ve entered the odd hutong one expecting to hold my breath for the duration of my time in there, only to find the toxic smell quite lacking! The same goes for the subway. They’ve been slowly ripping out the old ones and replaceing them. If you go to a refurbished one they’re largely fine. They’re still all squatters in the most part. Ones on the tourist trail might have some thrones in there.

 

As above, mall toilets are hit and miss. Sometimes you can be in a nicer Beijing mall and the a trip to the toilets transports you  to another world. One of my favourite malls also has a hotel attached. I used to just nip in and use those facilities instead. It seems a lot of people did that as now they need you to swipe a room card to get in to the lobby toilets! Fancy restaurants largely have good toilets BUT depends on how old the building is. If it’s all quite new they’re usually plush. 

 

The main issue that Beijing still has with toilets is they largely just seem to use water to clean them. This goes for almost every public building. Even ones where you’d like they’d care enough or have money enough to just buy some bleach and use hot water as well. 

 

Tsinghua’s dorms always had that nice clean bleachy smell after the cleaners had been in. However, the toilets near where we had class were grim. The cleaner would use the same mop for everything and then rinse it would in the sink where you’d wash your hands. If I was caught in a bad situation at Tsinghua I’d hot tail  up towards the dorms or offices. I didn’t live in dorms haha but was there enough, hence knowing the state of the toilets.

 

The thing about tissue paper. Most have it in Beijing. It’s usually just outside the cubicles on the wall. I reckon part of that I to shame you in to not taking too much! “Did you see how much toilet paper that guy had? Pity whoever’s in their next”. 

 

I’ve been in some horrific toilets elsewhere in China though. Literally slabs of concrete you just do your business on/over. It’s times like those that take careful planning! 

 

SOAP! The  bane of any China toilet goers life. In most Chinese hospitals there isn’t even any soap!! It’s a nightmare. But as above, it’s slowly getting a bit better. I’ve used the odd public that actually has soap inside. Most mall/restaurant toilets do now. Subway toilets all don’t have any. 

 

Bring some hand sanitzer or moist wipes or both for the odd occasion there isn’t any soap. 

 

I also dont remember the last time I time I had to squat in Beijing. Really, I can’t remember. It’s been years. 

[vellocet]

Quote

they largely just seem to use water to clean them.

 

Yup, for anyone wondering, that's why they always smell so bad.  They just splash some water around and that's it.  No soap, no cleanser, no Ajax, no bleach.  Just plain water.  I get the idea people just expect toilets to smell like feces and any toilet that doesn't must have something wrong with it.  

[roddy]

On 06/12/2017 at 6:17 AM, vellocet said:

Eh, you will notice that the Western media likes to obsess over things like this.

He said, before going on to help make this a notably fast-growing discussion. Lets face it, we all like to talk about toilets. Here's an earlier favourite.

[vellocet]

Hey, I'm not a sophisticated, cosmopolitan journalist with advanced educational credentials.  I'm just a commoner.  Holding them to the same low standard as me seems wrong.  

[roddy]

Come on, Vellocet. Be more CNN! You can do it!

 

For what it's worth, this was (I'm assuming this is the article) a travel section piece, not front page breaking news, and responding to China's own coverage.