Chinese Toilet Adventures: A Revolution in Public Facilities
One of my first experiences with public toilets was on my trip during the national holiday in May to the north of Sichuan Province. It was an excruciatingly long bus ride that included a few stops to use the roadside toilets. At all such stops, patrons were required to pay five jiao for the privilege of using these necessary facilities. I thought I was prepared for all of them, with their foul odors and lack of hygiene. I paid my money and entered the wooden shack.
To my amazement there was a view in the toilet--and it wasn't a window. I peered into the missing slat in the wood floor to realize that I had to urinate directly onto the steep cliff below. I looked around and wondered if the floor would hold my weight during the time required to relieve myself. Fortunately, it did.
On a summer journey through Beijing, I was out on the town with my new friend Ren Ke and his girlfriend. They wanted me to experience the drinking life of China's youth in Hou Hai. This includes late night snacks at the less appealing establishments. I was told that the hot spot at one particular hole in the wall was the best, and I must admit that it was quite good. However, it required a stop in the restroom outside.
I have never smelled anything so rancid in my life. I think the last time this restroom was cleaned was when Mao Zedong was still alive. I tried my best to hold my breath and not vomit on myself or others-although, vomit might be an improvement in odor. As we sat back at the table, Ren Ke tried to find the word to describe the horrific smell of the toilet. I had to teach him the English phrase, "That place reeks."
Quite possibly the worst experience I have had was a few months back when I was afflicted with the horrible intestinal illness that many foreigners succumb to during their prolonged stay in the Middle Kingdom. I grudgingly asked to be taken to the hospital as I felt like dying in my own comfortable bathroom. I was given the usual IVs of water, saline, baijou, berries, roots, scorpions, and seaweed. To make my unsanitary hospital stay more uncomfortable, I had to run to the toilet. It was not pleasant. Squatting over a hole with an IV in my arm and little energy in my body ranks as my worst experience in nine months of living in China. It will take a real tragedy to outrank that one.
Published by Matthew Lubin
Writer/editor and academic writing professor. Lived in southern China from 2005 to 2009. My work has appeared in Shenzhen Daily, Asia's Best Hotels & Resorts, The Aroostook Review, American Drivel Review, an... View profile
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16 Comments
Post a Commentwow! This is very interesting. I have never been anywhere esle besides the USA so I guess this may be the closer I come to the hole in the floor.
What a unique topic for an article. Very interesting and amusing read (and also nauseating).
Just awful....I, too experienced the drain in the floor in Europe! The things we take for granted here in the US!
During a trip to Germany I experienced a bathroom that was just a floor drain. I chose to hold it. LOL
My all-time favorite was the squatter with the sign that said "don't s**t in the grate!"
Sandra, I have found some very nice and sometimes interesting toilets in China. However, I discovered those after I wrote this. I may have to write a part 2 with the amusing/interesting ones I've come across. Of course, the most horrific story of toilets in China I've come across is actually from a Chinese woman on her first trip to rural Qinghai province a few years ago. So, it's not just foreigners who come across these.
I enjoyed this article. We really are spoiled in the Western world, aren't we? My university world music professor had traveled in the Far Eastern countries and had noted the smell even when commuting on the trains. But he also showed us the beauty of things like the shadow puppet theatres (I think its called kabuki -sp?) and other aspects of the musical culture of China, Thailand, South Korea, and other countries in that part of the world. Fascinating. I'm sure that there are areas in the United States as well as China that aren't places you would want foreign visitors to see, so I can kind of see the previous commenter's point. But this was still an interesting article. The only thing I might have done was to note if you had seen any toilet facilities in China that were close to our own Western standards and whether they were the exception rather than the rule.
Ouch! I'll remember that when I visit. I've had some peculiar experiences at Greyhound stops as well as a few hours into Mexico but yours sound worse.
lol so gross. thank goodness I don't live in China cause I'd never use the facilities. I'd probably die from blockage or something. great article.
Don't fret the comment of this offended individual. . .welcome to AC! You know that you're a good writer when you start getting these comments because that means that people are actually reading your articles. I thought this was funny, definitely at your expense. . .bad bathroom experiences always make for great stories!