I know, everyone always comments on Chinese toilets – they are on the floor, big deal. Well, most of those people who write about the Chinese facilities are men, and let’s face it, when it comes to bathrooms, men have it easy. So here is what really goes on behind the 女 door.
Are Chinese bathrooms dirty? Yes! But Chinese people have clean hands.
There is a difference in the cultural ideas of cleanliness here.
In the west, we like to have clean restroom facilities because they look nice enough to touch and diminish the fear of festering bacteria. We also have the social responsibility to wash our hands with the facility provided soap and running water or use our convenient little hand sanitizer bottles.
In China, it’s hard to find those little hand sanitizer bottles (really, for some reason there are plenty of large bottles but few little ones) and many restrooms don’t have soap or even running water. There is also the idea that putting your hands under cold water when it is cold out will get you sick (this is actually proved to be correct, but it spreads germs and gets everyone else sick) so there isn’t much emphasis on handwasing. This means that clean is then a matter of keeping your hands clean, not coming into contact with anything at all. Again, guys have it easy here. Girls however have stalls with stall doors and have to flush.
So have you ever seen those old women who, without any modesty, leave the door hanging wide open while doing something rather private then precede to not flush? Sure it seems close to vile in western culture but look at from a cleanliness perspective – she didn’t touch the door handle or the toilet handle. She thinks it’s disgusting when us westerns not only close the door but grab hold of the handle and fasten the lock, then precede to touch the toilet handle, that has been touched by countless people who have just touched some not so clean places, to flush the toilet.
So Many bathrooms in China are outright disgusting, but if you don’t touch anything they are clean as can be.
Should you sit down on a public toilet? It’s probably not a good idea.
Remember that whole idea of not touching anything in the bathroom? That includes the toilet seat. Many Chinese people think public western toilets are disgusting – just think about how many butts have touched it before yours! It’s honestly not the butts you should worry about but the feet. Since many Chinese people think western toilets are dirty, they will proceed to climb onto the seat and squat just like using a regular Chinese toilet. You’ve never wondered why the toilet seats are so scuffed up? Trust me, those shoes aren’t clean.
Those who aren’t climbers are often hoverers and while this is a good clean method, it often misses the mark. My advice is honestly to use a Chinese toilet or bring sani-wipes for the seat.
Are there any nice bathrooms? Sure, there are more and more nice bathrooms everyday
If you are ever out and about, go to any KFC or McDonald’s. Generally, any foreign owned franchise will employ western sanitation techniques and many higher end Chinese establishments are pretty good about it as well.
How bad are the squatters? Not that bad, but they have their drawbacks.
I have tons of western friends who love them and prefer them to western toilets – these friends are all men.
The thing that no one tells you about women and squatters is that… there can be splash back. No one wants to admit that it happens, but I’ve heard many embarrassed confessions. There was even this one joke about not kissing dirty ankles.
Sometimes there is no splash guard, or you squat too far forward or not center enough and so you miss. I’m sure you personally never do, and I sure don’t, but someone does because there are often little puddles on the foot areas next to or in front of the squatters.
It doesn’t matter though, it’s only the bottoms of your shoes that get dirty right? Well, pant legs and long skirts sometimes come down a bit more than expected when you squat. You might notice women rolling up their pant legs while waiting in line, do what the locals do. Also, don’t wear those foam flip-flops or cloth-covered shoes to the Chinese WC.
Do you have to undress to use a squatter? No.
You’d be surprised how many people try to take their pants off, or at least one pant leg off, to use the squatters. It explains some of the long waits in the women’s room. It’s not necessary – you’ll figure it out. If you are really worried, just wear skirts.
So it’s just squatters and dirty western toilets, right? Yes, if you stay within the major cities.
If you ever leave a major city, just hold it until you go back.
So the variety of restroom facilities really varies by region in China and goes by many different terms. They also vary in different degrees of laowai-friendliness.
Some are really decent outhouses that are actually better than the porter potties at American county fairs and construction sites.
Some are really just big holes in the ground with one wall to give the illusion of privacy. With a nice country breeze and plenty of room, these can actually better than some bathrooms in the cities. In some areas, these holes or pits are called feikong – waste holes.
I think the Darwin award should go to whomever decided to build a windowless brick outhouse in the middle of the Inner Mongolian desert. I suppose it probably does withstand the sand and wind better than any other structure, but ever heard of a brick oven? I think it’s actually one the levels of Hell to be locked in a small room full of other people’s baking feces.
For the really bad bathrooms, just put some of those scented tissues over your nose and be fast!
What about 男/女 restrooms? The problem with many bathrooms that don’t separate men and women is honestly the locks…
Remember the thing about touching the locks? Men often don’t lock the doors either. It’s scary walking in on a drunk man with a cigarette in his mouth who smiles as he lets you enjoy the view. It’s even worse when you are using the facilities with a broken lock and a man walks in on you and takes way too long to turn around and close the door. There are many doors that don’t close right or don’t lock so have someone guard the door for you. It’s just embarrassing.
Why are there urinals in the women’s bathroom?
I’ve come across this a couple of times and had to do a double take to make sure I went through the right door. Yes, there are sometimes male urinals in the women’s bathrooms in China. I’ve asked around and they are for women who have to take their sons to the bathroom. I guess it makes sense.
Are children toilet trained? Sure.
Many 3-5 year-olds still pee right on the floor. Well, if you don’t want to endure the Chinese bathrooms, why put innocent children through it?
This actually puzzled me for the longest time. Finally I got around to asking about this. One reason is that children, apparently, shouldn’t have to hold it if there isn’t a bathroom readily available, that’s actually what that bucket is for on buses (or at least I’ve most commonly seen it used as such). Reason two is that children can fall in or fall down and touch something and then they need a bath. See, Chinese people are actually very cleanliness conscious, it just looks like using a public floor for relief is unclean to foreign bystanders.
Can children really fall in? Maybe.
It really depends on the toilet. Remember how some women miss? Well, sometimes those floors are really slick and I’ve almost fallen down a couple times myself. Remember those waste holes? Sometimes the pits are actually quite large and you have to balance yourself on a corner. I could imagine a small child falling in and then needing help to get out… In general, I think the children are big enough to use a public restroom without falling in.
Should you eat the pork? That’s really a personal choice.
If you are ever out in the country, you may or may not want to use the facilities before dinner. You see, some people don’t want to clean the outhouse, it’s dirty. So sometimes people connect the outhouses to the pig pens so they can kill two birds with one stone – don’t have to clean the outhouse and not have to feed the pigs. It is really disturbing seeing how excited the pigs get when they see you walking up to the outhouse…
I experienced some really bad bathrooms in China, things that I still have nightmares about but don’t even phase most Chinese people. I’ve also spent more time outside of the big cities than a lot of foreigners. Basically, Chinese bathrooms can pose some challenges, but you get used to them and then they really just aren’t a big deal.
There are many times in China and when I envied men, they have it easy when it comes to bathrooms. Often men don’t even bother using the facilities, especially if the restroom is dirty, far away, or occupied. I blame men for stinking up the streets and that one area in the park!
The Truth About Chinese Toilets « 万水千山
Ericka woke up in a Xi'an hotel room one day dazed and confused. After a series of inexplicable events, she found herself speaking in strange tongues and married to one of the locals. Currently, she spends her time in Qingdao translating or teaching and trying to avoid assimilation into the Chinese masses.
LOL! That’s why so many people in China prefer to do it on the sidewalk/park/underpass/you name it. Because those places are so much cleaner than a typical Chinese public bathroom.
Great info Ericka. I will add that unless it’s a quick #1, men have all the problems women do, including the challenge of getting things positioned to a somewhat uncomfortable downward angle.
Also, I find the best place to hit up for clean western toilets are large hotel chains. Most are situated in tourist areas so are often convenient, and most will have a nice bathroom in the lobby. Just use your Laowai Card of Entitlement and Belonging to get past the door guards.
McDs is usually much better for having Western toilets than KFC, but the state of them make the squatters a much better choice for all the reasons you mentioned above.
One other thing I always encourage newcommers to do is to get over the squatter anxiety as quickly as possible. Squatters aren’t that tough to get used to, but the fear of having to use one when you’re not comfortable with the process is enough to get your guts turning and make you OD on Imodium for trips to the grocery store. It’s just not worth it. Get your squatter skills down and instantly feel comfortable going anywhere you please — but don’t forget the bog roll!
Another thing to notice is that shopping-center/airport/mall restrooms often have doors that lead straight into the restroom. This may not seem strange on the surface, but think back to bathrooms in the US/Europe/Japan and you’ll realize that they all have U- or Z-turns as you walk in so that people outside can’t see directly into the bathroom area. Not so in China! This is especially unfortunate for men who must use the urinals in plain sight of the door; no doors to conveniently cover us as we do “our business”.
What a terrible and racist article. What about the filthy conditions of mens’ toilets in the USA. Most American men can’t see to pee straight. How many times one walks into a sit down toilet and see pee all over the sea because some jerk couldn’t pee into the middle? How often do you see pee all over the ground around the toilet and all over the floor.
If you don’t like China, get the hell out.
Where oh where did you see any reference to Western toilets being cleaner? This is an article about Chinese toilets and Chinese toilet attitudes.
It’s not racist to comment on cultural differences, and frankly, the article is fairly balanced in mentioning that it is FOREIGNER’S lack of understanding of Chinese toilet culture that causes the problems FOR FOREIGNERS.
Quote:
‘Sure it seems close to vile in western culture but look at from a cleanliness perspective – she didn’t touch the door handle or the toilet handle. She thinks it’s disgusting when us westerns not only close the door but grab hold of the handle and fasten the lock, then precede to touch the toilet handle, that has been touched by countless people who have just touched some not so clean places, to flush the toilet.
So Many bathrooms in China are outright disgusting, but if you don’t touch anything they are clean as can be.’
If you read this as written, it is clear and balanced. Get the stick out to your ass- if anyone is being ethnocentric, its you.
Haha, the only bathroom I’ve ever refused to use was not in China, but at a gas station in the US. I much prefer a dirty squatter to a dirty western toilet anyday!
Haha, funny article! But I do agree on getting used to the squat toilets fast. when you do get used to them they’re more comfortable to use than western toilets (if there’s a “splash gurad”) as you don’t have to sit down.
LaoWaiGuy: Oh come on! Why do guys even stand up peeing? The height from which you pee makes splashes up and to the toilet seat no matter if you pee in the middle of or beside the toilet!
Also I think you missed the whole point of this entry…
This is a great article. I’ve wanted to write a toilet post for a long time and have just never gotten around to it. My first experience squatting here in China was on the train to Harbin, thank god they had a handle to brace myself or I would’ve gone right in.
One problem you might not have in the women’s toilets is people staring at your hardware. Dudes at the urinals unapologetically look down at my junk like 50% of the time.
Yup – at least 50% of the time. I find a wave (or jiggle) and a smile is enough to flip the uncomfortableness of the situation to the other guy.
I hope you mean wave your hand, right Ryan?!
I read somewhere that when judging the cleanliness of a restaurant you should take a look at the toilets, as these are much easier to clean than a restaurant kitchen – if the toilets are dirty, then the kitchen is bound to be unhygienic too.
If I followed this advice in China I’d never eat out at all.
that is very true – my friends and I used to go to this one restaurant just because it had great bathrooms! We didn’t even care for the food that much, but something about the bathrooms kept us coming back.
Ah..bringing back disturbing mental imagery of outhouses in rural Gansu.
We westerners tend to think of spitting as quite disgusting as well, but as my Chinese friend said to me one day, “whats more disgusting – spitting it or swallowing it”
@LaiwaiGuys – ahh…. fck it, why even bother.
This is the best article on Chinese toilets so far, mixing together the right amounts of disgust, terror, humour and practical information. China can have the worst, by far, toilets when I compare my travels through the US, Canada, Japan and China. To make up for this, China has the best jiaozi in the whole wide world.
The best advice I can give on the subject is “Watch where you step”.
Erika you forgot rule # 1 before even entering either a mens or ladies
BRING YOUR OWN PAPER!
For us spoiled Westerners access to paper fibre in public facilities is almost considered a human right. China not so (hey it costs money…). I find that this is usually newbie mistake number two after we finish navigating a squatter and are proud of ourselves for getting through on the “starter blocks” , nothing more frustrating than realizing that there isnt a swath of 3 ply in site….
(another reason why I agree with Ryan’s strategy of scoping out the 5/* 4/* facilities if conveninent
hilarious article, I really enjoyed reading it. I’m sure everybody that visits this site has some horror story about a bathroom here. westerners trade stories about public bathrooms in China like vets trading war stories about battle scars. it’s become a running joke for my western friends and me that there are almost no complete public bathrooms in China. they’re always missing something, whether it be paper, running water, soap, or a drying station. I found a great one in the Haidian mall in Beijing; paper that I didn’t need but thanks anyways, hot water, soap… and then I went to dry my hands and… nope. so close! I’ve found the Pizza Hut bathrooms to be pretty amazing in comparison to the medieval muckstalls that get cleaned on a, what, monthly basis? the bathrooms at Pizza Hut makes me feel like a king–wow, western toilets, fluffy paper, soap, hot water, hot air hand dryer… and wait… what? everything’s clean?? is this the Twilight Zone? on a very serious level though, you can’t expect every bathroom will be a palace when you have a billion and a half people relieving themselves in the same places every day.
My first encounter with a squatter was actually in France. I was about 16 at the time, and stared at the sculpted hole in the floor in astonishment and confusion for a minute or two.
By the time I was working in South Korea quitea few years later, I’d had to accept those darned things, and even figure out a suitable position/angle… But one thing that I can never surpass is the aching knees, as someone who never otherwise squats will find it, quite literally, a real pain to be in that position for a few minutes.
Don’t even get me started on using them in winter, when you’re wearing an extra layer of trousers…
Well which is it?
Are they touching the doors/locks/flushers etc. or arent they? If they are not, then there is no reason to fear touching anything for it is not dirty. If they are (touching doors/locks/flushers etc.), then there is no excuse not to wash their hands… The Chinese bathroom paradox.
The problem is that when people try to avoid touching things, a bigger mess is usually made – like when people try to hover. I’ve often been in bathrooms where I honestly couldn’t figure out how some of the stuff got on the walls.
All through my youth (admittedly, some time ago — should be ‘better’ now) I battled squatting-style toilets in France. The squatting I got used to, but unlike most squatters in China, the French variety was invariably equipped with a veritable water-cannon. The challenge would always be after doing your business and getting dressed again, to hit ‘flush’ at the same time as leaping out of the stall and sprinting out of the way without slipping and breaking your neck. In an effort to be hygienic, the water-cannon would project the #2 and paper not into the hole, but out over the floor and onto your shoes.
A great thing about Chinese toilets is not having to be self-conscious about being smelly yourself. Feast on beans all you like, nobody will know.
That happened to me one time in china! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share that story or not… It’s so horrible! I just pretended it wasn’t me and walked away.
we r making efforts to improve . the condition is getting well these years , so try to inderstand here and try to love here
You are stupid, and your article is terrible. Why can’t you just tell the truth?
China’s sanitation standards are not up to those of the civilized world. They are dirty people for the most part. The streets are filled with litter at night, which attracts rats and then disease. And the bathrooms are just plain disgusting.
What I really can’t stand is when you suggest something like toilet paper and soap being in the bathroom, and you get this moronic response about how this is not the “Chinese way,” or something like that. Or, even worse, something like……”They have 1.3 billion people; they can’t possibly have western hygiene standards.” Why not??
It’s a dirty country and they have a ways to go. It has nothing to do with “Chinese culture.” Do you think Hu Jintao’s house is more like the average Chinese or the average American? And does that mean Hu Jintao is “less Chinese” than the common slobs that you look to as people living the “Chinese way.”
And, by the way. I was at a Taiwanese resort recently; with all WESTERN toilets. Maybe they are not Chinese enough for you?
P.S. Sorry for ranting, but anyone who defends less than first class hygiene is trash in my book. It not like there is a shortage of affordable labor to clean up the country.
Class act.
洁癖 much? you’ve obviously only had superficial experiance both in China and/or with chinese people. Your rant shows you to be both ill informed and petty.
superficial, ill-informed, petty???
why? because I choose to associate with Chinese people who have similar education and social class to myself.
If a Chinese professional makes a trip to America, is he supposed to go hang out in a trailer park in West Virgina so that he can see the “real America?”
You backpacker types who think only the poor and uneducated people are authentic make me sick.
I don’t know what your education and social class are, but the developed China you see today is a fairly recent development. The number of highly educated Chinese professionals who grew up entitled are few and far between. It is becoming fairly easy to run into some professionals in their 20′s who had a cushioned childhoods, but other than that not really. I know plenty of Chinese phDs and millionaire businessmen who came from poor farming families and worked their way out of poverty. Their parents still live in the countryside because is where they want to be. If you ever get invited to the hometown of one of your Chinese friends you deem acceptable, you might find that person’s parents to be one of those people you deem less “authentic.” No one is telling you to go to the countryside or interact with people “below” your status, but how can you judge those people as less “authentic” or less “real?” The country and the cities are two sides of the same coin, and one needs to see both sides to understand the whole.
And yes, if a Chinese professional really wants to understand the American market, he should go to the poorer areas to see how different economic levels affect spending habits. American people with lower to mid level incomes make up a huge chunk of American buyers for everyday goods and services.
Ericka–nice response, you kept it clean and objective. As you can see, I couldn’t do the same.
@ADH – us backpacker types? Wow – more sweeping generalisations, nice work sunshine. I’d dare say i’ve spent a lot more time in the company of university professors and absurdly rich businessman – not to mention subsistance farmers, than yourself – but you keep on with making dick soapbox statements about who ‘we’ and what ‘they’ are.
If you associate with Chinese people similar to yourself, well…that explains a lot about your perception of Chinese and China.
Well.. this seems to have stirred up a bit of contraversy.
Let me first say, that I too know rich Chinese, who behave like animals, and I know middle class Chinese who have perfectly acceptable manners. So it’s really not a money thing. And if you read my comments above you will see that I never said it’s a money thing. It’s a class thing. Some people have class,and some don’t.
Why is a lack of class so common and prevelant among Chinese? Probably communism has the most to do with it. At least that’s my best guess. Although the brainwashing about China being the center of the world has existed before communism.
And I have been in the countryside of places more poor than China; Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and have never, never, encountered the rude disgusting ways I have seen in China.
Another thing, look at Japan. They maintain a strong culture of their own but are always willing to adapt new ways when they see that maybe the Germans or Americans have a better way of doing something. Not so with the Chinese in most cases; which also expains why this place is so backward.
So I’m not a big fan of China. I have my reasons. But I must say that I think I am a lot less prejustice toward China people than Chinese people I know in America and Hong Kong.
Are you serious? You wrote that comment as a satire of pretentious ignorant rich white trash, right? Wait–you’re Paris Hilton, aren’t you?
Oh snap, ADH is so damn classy that I feel honoured just to have him read the same blog I do. I really hope that I get considered to be one of the people who has class *cross my finger and pray real hard*
As for “prejustice”, I am in total agreement. I as a Chinese with Canadian citizenship hate those “China people”. Plucky little scamps!how dare they be born to a less fortunate position than I. They should all be shot.
No, Meng, she’s Sarah Palin
A little harsh there
I must admit I enjoyed reading your post ;-D I’ve been living in Beijing for five years and have seen both ends of the spectrum. I’ve visited Chinese homes with sparkling bathrooms where you are expected to take off your shoes at the entrance to homes with dirty squatters, where visitors are allowed to sit on beds and walk around with their mucky shoes. So, from my personal experience, I’ve learned not to classify all Chinese people in the same light. Some are very clean and hygienic and some are slobs… I think you will find the same in any country.
one can only learn from criticism.
Wow. This must be what being in politics feels like…..say something that people don’t agree with or is not politically correct and your opponents then misquote you, put words into your mouth, or come up with their own unique (mis)interpretation of what you said.
Chinese bathrooms. They are dirty. I think 90% of this has to do with Mao and his version of communism. Another reason for the dirtyness may be the 5000 year old medical technolgy still used in China, AKA, Traditional Chinese Medicine.
They still believe in this nonsense. Here is a nice article about it:
http://skepticblog.org/2008/11/02/tcm-1/
Thanks, Ericka; nice writing; didn’t faze me because I live in Mexico on the Baja Sur where bathrooms aren’t an issue except for tourists. Thanks, too, to all the articulate responders: half the fun of reading articles, blogs and columns,¿no? In re bathrooms and sanitation in general, it is mainly a dollar thing. Most of you are probably too young to know that in the U.S., before the advent of television, obsessing about cleanliness was not on the national agenda. But in the mid 50′s when TV high-jacked the nightlife of most households soap, tile cleaners, floor wax and blue color for the toilet water (!) were the major adverts over hundreds of hours per year. There’s a lot of bucks out there that Americans pay to keep clean. Yet we are not leaders, we lag, in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, literacy and happiness. Well, gotta go. In parting, I’ll just say keep your nose clean and wash behind the ears. Hey; Great Web Site!
i heard about that issue from another blogger about the public toilet in China, i thought that’s not true, but now i believe..
Western Toilet can be used by sitting and squatting.
Squat Toilet can only be used by squatting.
If your leg is broken and it mustn’t be bent because it is tied by bandage…what can you do with the squat toilet?
So the winner is western toilet but with bidet of course ’cause water is better to clean than toilet paper does, and wastafel to wash hands. And the toilet should be covered by 4 walls!!!!
USING TOILET IS A PRIVACY! I DON’T WANT SOMEONE TO SQUAT AND GRAB AND PULL MY SKIRT/LEGS WHEN I AM SITTING ON IT.
“If your leg is broken and it mustn’t be bent because it is tied by bandage…what can you do with the squat toilet?”
I can answer how it’s done. You keep the broken leg straight while squating with the good leg and use the wall for support or have someone physically support you up. This can be hard on the good leg though.
well, i am from beijing and now living in spain. from where i come from, most of the spanish toilets are filthy! so why not take a big tour before you say ‘in western countries’ or sth similar. of course everywhere has clean bathrooms and the dirty ones. but no need to generalize
oh another funny fact is, in my whole life (30 years) in beijing, i’ve never used the squad one
Hi Ericka,
What you have written is very true and objective. I am Chinese and living in Australia at the moment. Well, in Australia it depends on the location, for example toilets at train stations are dirtier than those in a hotel. However, toilets are cleaner in general than in China, toilet paper is most of the time provided and you’ll find no spitting on the bathroom/toilet floor.
To those who over critisise the article => It’s not an anti-china propaganda, so take it easy! Open or change your mind does not mean that you’re losing anything. Reasonable criticism could only help to encourage development, right?
To Ericka => Best luck and enjoy your time in China!
Excellent article. I just have to share that I used a bathroom in a Shanghai restaurant that (prepare yourself) was western style, had soap, had toilet paper, the toilet water was blue, and had TOILET SEAT COVERS. I almost died from shock/elation.
Well being a western female, who also married a guy from Xi’an
I have to say I never liked the squatters and I can not get used to them whenever I am in China.( I also hunt out the western WC’S and some times I am sad to seem them used as storage areas) Even my sons when they were little did not like them- once when visiting their grandparents in the countryside there was only a pit toliet outside- my son refused to use it and and would not go potty at all in the pit so we left early to head backs towards the city-just to get to a flushable WC lol! The grandparents did have a ” seat” that was made to go on top of it for use, once when some one once needed it ( maybe pregnant person? So I guess this is done when needed) I think to say the chinese are clean if nothing in the WC is touched- is not true – what if you need to have a bowel movement and you touched nothing, you still had to touch your buttocks to wipe- right? So your hands get dirty and you may have feces there- it is very important any way you try to twist it – to wash with soap and water ( even cold water), would you want a Dr to treat you with out washing? Being in the medical field I can tell you not washing your hands is one of the BIGGEST reasons people are sick— ( not from the fan or the wind or coldness) both in the USA and China since it causes many infections– but some Chinese may not connect or blame the illness on lack of hand washing this can also be the case with cooking in China things are not as clean as they should be and most Staph infections are do to poor hygiene. I was told by family memebers about the dirty public WC that Chinese thinking is “since we are doing something dirty there- why do we need to have such a clean place to do a dirty thing?” I have been in too many public Squatters where there was human waste all over the ground and it is so hard not to pick up germs not to mention it looks and smells horrible and trying to balance squatting, holding your clothing up and getting your papet ready to wipe and not have your clothing get dirty trying to avoid stepping on it when there is no where else to step or have your pants not touch the waste is just too much- going to the WC should not be so hard,,However I find many young people now want cleaner WCs and from my experience most rich people and people with new housing are installing western WCs even if some use their feet on them ( LOL) a habit I can not break my 7 yr old from
I think in time china may have cleaner WCs- it is a shame many places look at it as too costly– that they should not have to pay for the cost of soap and water or towels—but what about health reasons as I see too many Chinese using Iv drips in their houses with out a second thought and chain smoking non stop and drinking way too much– Education may be the key to getting cleaner WCs and less smokers in China and i feel things are heading that way– as all the new apartments I have been in — every one had western WC and not one had a squat — a good thing if you ask me!