This is a fun article to read.
My first experience in chinese toilets (summer 1998, 1st time ever in China) was quiet memorable: no light, no running water, could barely breathe and of course no doors… as i was squatting, u know, doing my thing, this old chinese woman walked in and stood in front of me, staring at me in the eyes(!!!) the whole time while undoing her pants. I found the situation so…unbelievable that i didn’t know if i wanted to laugh or cry.

Now i live in Beijing and not a week goes by that i don’t find a funny situation involving squat latrines. From the ” please no shit” , “pissing only” signs in Houhai bars to the latrines in the gym i go to: the 1st time i walked in the bathroom of the gym i was absolutely traumatized by the fact that if i wanted to pee ( these are “pissing only” latrines as well) i had to squat down in front of all the ladies that were showering. No doors and no walls, just a hole slightly higher up than the showers. Usually nobody stares. But of course when it is a foreigner everybody does…aaarghh! My only retaliation means is to stare when THEY pee. Sometimes it is really funny: today this woman was showering and she squatted down to pee with all the foam on her hair and body.
I had a point to this… oh yes: i have to disagree with the pensionner in the article: toilets ARE part of the image of a country. For once, I really don’t mind the Chinese making hygiene a matter of face.

November 17, 2004 @ 5:50 am | Comment

World Toilet Summit 2004, or, Urinal Psychology- a continuation

There has been a lot of chatter recently about Chinese toilets. This is due to the “World Toilet Summit” currently being held by the WTO (World Toilet Organization) in Beijing. There is one aspect of the public Chinese toilet, however, that I suspect w…

November 20, 2004 @ 6:45 pm | Comment