news

in recent years, beijing's hutong public toilets have undergone a "toilet revolution" and their hardware has been greatly improved. however, as living standards improve, people have higher requirements for the "small matter" of using the toilet: in addition to being clean and hygienic, warm in winter and cool in summer, it is best to also take into account privacy.

reporters found that some of the city's hutong public toilets had no baffles, and some toilets were very close to each other, even "head to head". in a weibo poll conducted by beijing evening news, nearly 40% of netizens "completely cannot accept" toilets without baffles.

on site

4 squat toilets facing each other

on the evening of august 27, mr. wu, a tourist from zhejiang, walked into the west public toilet at no. 16 yangmeizhuxie street with his son. they were shocked by the scene in front of them: in the narrow space, three "row squat toilets" were close together without baffles. mr. wu felt embarrassed and decided to go out and find another toilet. in a public toilet in liboying hutong, there were no baffles between the squat pits, whether in the men's or women's toilets.

the west men's public toilet at no. 16 yangmeizhuxie street has no baffles in the "row squat toilets"

in a public toilet on the west side of yangpi city hutong, four squat toilets and one sitting toilet are squeezed together, and there is no partition in the middle. what is even more troublesome is that the four squat toilets are arranged in "four corners", two by two facing each other, and when multiple people use the squat toilets at the same time, they will inevitably be "head to head".

there is a public toilet on the west side of yangpi city hutong, with two toilets facing each other and no baffles between the toilets.

not far away, a clerk at a barbecue restaurant told reporters that this toilet was the closest public toilet to their store, and many customers had complained to them that their "privacy was not respected."

"can you accept a toilet without a baffle?" more than 600 people participated in a weibo survey initiated by beijing evening news, of which nearly 40% said "i can't accept it at all, i'd rather go to another toilet farther away in an emergency", and about 50% said "i can only accept it when there is no one, i'm always worried about someone coming in", or "i can only accept it, i can use it in an emergency". only 11.2% said "i can accept it and don't feel embarrassed".

explain

the space is too narrow to install the baffle

in fact, the environment and facilities of hutong public toilets have been greatly improved compared with years ago.

mr. song has been collecting waste in beijing's hutongs since the 1990s. recalling the public toilets before, he described them as "smelly, unhygienic, and full of clutter." "it's much better now, much cleaner and more sanitary than before."

grandpa yang has lived in yangpishi hutong since he was a child. the public toilet at the door of his house has been used for nearly 50 years. he and his old neighbors have long been accustomed to the lack of baffles. "it would be better if we could add baffles, but we can't sacrifice the number of toilet seats."

since the hutong public toilets have already been renovated, why not add baffles to the toilet seats as well?

a beijing evening news reporter called huanya lidu investment co., ltd., a public toilet management company. a staff member explained that public toilets without baffles are usually due to narrow space and insufficient conditions. for example, the west public toilet at no. 16 yangmeizhu xie street is narrow from north to south, and adding baffles will occupy aisle space, making it easy to bump into things when using the toilet, especially for the elderly with limited mobility, who are more likely to bump into the baffles.

tips

multiple parties cooperate to design the best solution

according to the "urban public toilet design standards" issued by the ministry of housing and urban-rural development, each toilet should have an independent toilet stall. at the same time, the minimum size of a single toilet stall (squat toilet and toilet) is: 0.85 to 0.90 meters wide and 1.20 meters deep.

"hutong toilets are not well-equipped, and we encountered many problems during the renovation." liang ji, a doctoral student at the tsinghua academy of fine arts and deputy secretary-general of the toilet committee of the china urban environmental sanitation association, has participated in the renovation of more than 600 municipal public toilets in dongcheng district. during his research, liang ji found that due to historical reasons, many families in the hutongs did not have toilets. in the old city, land was scarce and property rights were complicated. it was difficult to build new toilets, and the only option was to renovate old toilets. residents strongly demanded that the number of toilets should not be reduced. therefore, it was impossible to make major adjustments in space, and the quality of toilets could only be improved from the details. for example, improving lighting, improving ventilation, and optimizing the sanitary environment...

of course, some residents also want to improve the privacy of toilets. in order to add baffles in small toilets, liang ji's team spent a lot of time and effort. "we chose baffles that are as thin as possible and 1.8 meters high, while ensuring strength and safety, so as not to take up too much space and prevent the baffles from tripping people in the aisle." a public toilet in jiaozi hutong has undergone such a transformation. the reporter saw at the scene that the public toilet door adopts a sliding door design to save space.

during the renovation of the public toilets, a baffle was added to the public toilets in jiaozi hutong.

"in addition to obtaining residents' consent and designing the best plan, the renovation of public toilets also requires financial investment. the practice of 'using business to subsidize toilets' in some cities is worth learning from, by providing vending machines, power banks, public service advertisements and other services to subsidize the cost of toilet operation and maintenance. if it is a new toilet, you can also leave room for commercial spaces such as flower shops and barber shops during the design. while providing convenient services, it can also reduce the cost of toilet operation and maintenance and improve the quality of the toilet environment." liang ji said that whether it is the renovation or the construction of a new toilet, it is not something that can be accomplished by one department alone, and it requires cooperation and joint promotion from multiple parties.

in recent years, the environment of beijing's hutongs has been getting better and better. in addition to the residents living in the hutongs, many tourists from other places have also been attracted to visit the hutongs to learn about the authentic beijing city. a small toilet baffle reflects the service details and humanistic care. the management of hutong public toilets should also improve service details and strive to make up for the shortcomings.

source: beijing evening news reporter hu zi'ao and sun hongyang