Comments on: Wuhan Builds 2 Million RMB Luxury Public Toilet

By: meir

meir — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:16:28 +0000

hello my name is meir and i need information for toilet publie we need many many pices

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i need pictuers and prices

By: Big Mao Zedong Statue Looks Like Deng Xiaoping | chinaSMACK

Big Mao Zedong Statue Looks Like Deng Xiaoping | chinaSMACK — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:03:18 +0000

[...] Wuhan Builds 2 Million RMB Luxury Public Toilet [...]

By: Rick in China

Rick in China — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:12:17 +0000

@Camela
That’s a little more clear. Actually, I was reading somewhere that there was a test of how much fecal matter was present on people’s hands contrasting different areas north/south of london. I agree with your point on making people habitually more hygienic. I’m still skeptical about a lot of the facts of this toilet, I mean, there’s not really enough information on it to really judge whether it’s worth the cost – it certainly could be, that’s less than 300k USD…I would be shocked if there were problems with filtering the air and flushing.

By: Camela

Camela — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:33:00 +0000

Rick, maybe you misunderstand that I’m not talking about how I myself think immune systems work. I’m just retelling what someone else told me. I would be one of the ones considered overly-hygienic pansies.

Of course CLEAN modern toilets are better than the rural hole, and a clean hole is better than a shit filled hole. But I was comparing having to hover over other people’s shit with open air (rural toilets) versus having to hover over other people’s shit without open air (city toilets). Don’t think I wouldn’t prefer to only do my business at pristine shiny toilets, but when you gotta go, you gotta go ;)

People don’t do things like flush and clean because many are used to using toilets the rural way. Do I wish that would change so China can become more hygienic and less of a cesspool of epidemics? Yes. At the same time I think improving these conditions starts with trying to understand why people do the things that they do. They aren’t doing what they do to be nasty. For many, it’s a case of “old habits die hard” and maybe even never learning any different.

Okay, this was supposed to be about these officials who just built an overly fancy toilet, right? Hygiene is good to encourage, but hygiene is more dependent on how a toilet is used and cleaned, not on how expensive it is; and yeah, even a golden toilet can easily become foul. Has this toilet become a horrifying shit hole already, or is it actually pristine? Or somewhere in between? Inquiring minds wants an update! Heehee.

Come on, it’s okay, this is less shit stirring than I’ve seen in the comments section of some other posts. All this shit talk have stayed relatively civilized. ;)

By: benson see

benson see — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:28:31 +0000

China should be considered as a developed country where the 2 million dollar toilet is concerned. Even the most developed countries in the world do not have such toilets. wuhan’s mayor has got his pyriority wrong. from the 2 million, he may get 30% cut. The contractors may get another 20% by jacking up the cost. Other gov officials may get another 20%. The raeal cost is only about 30%. This is what you call as a n abuse of public fund. The end losers are the taxpayers. I don’t know whether a tender is ever carried out for any public projects which involves public fund. If there is no transparency, there will be no accountability. Good luck china.

By: Max

Max — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:50:43 +0000

Actually, the toilet costs 200,000 yuan.. the 1.8 million yuan are spent on KTV, expensive dinner, luxury goods.. and over seas trips… for those involved in the decision making….

By: Duckee

Duckee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:24:02 +0000

i didn’t realise my translating this article would stir so much shit lol. (sorry couldn’t resist hahaha)

By: Rick in China

Rick in China — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:26:47 +0000

@Camela
RE: “Seriously, the Chinese attitude about hygiene tends to be that foreigners are picky pansies and being exposed to more bacteria makes your immune system stronger.”
Obviously not a bio/biochemist. Being exposed to bacteria can strengthen your immune system, or severely cripple it. Many bacterial infections require antibiotics to kill, in doing so, you also potentially gain immunities to the treatments themselves and/or kill off ‘good’ bacteria – and being that there are only a few families of antibiotics you might end up immunizing against one which you are in serious need of in the future because you were unnecessarily ‘exposing yourself’ to bacterial infections in the first place. Not to mention the sheer disgust of shit particles floating around your skin – let me guess, you don’t get kissed much. Personally I’d rather shit in a clean hole than a pig farm outhouse, but that’s just me..I’m not really into boxing myself up in a filled up shitter.

By: laura & tony » dept of public works

laura & tony » dept of public works — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:15:38 +0000

[...] sorts of interesting things are happening in Wuhan. Legal activism, child labor… and a 2 million RMB toilet. I know I complain a lot about the infrastructure here – couldn’t they have put it not in a [...]

By: Kai

Kai — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:16:42 +0000

Way too much shit talking in this one…