It was pretty hard in the old days for visitors to find a public toilet on the streets of Haikou, capital of South China's Hainan Province.

A public toilet in Haikou (Photos: Yan Xu/People's Daily)

Zhang Jianming, nearly 60 years old, brings his wife every winter, driving from Liaoning Province to Hainan Province. Four years ago, he got lost while trying to find a public toilet on the streets of Haikou. It took him more than a half hour to find it at the corner of a street. "There was no sign instructing tourists to where the public toilet was at that time, and even if you were lucky to find one, it was really small and filled with visitors," says Zhang.

"The toilet was so dirty, and I was bitten by many mosquitos," Zhang's wife complained. They say that things like this occurred to them many times in Haikou. 

"The toilets in the scenic spots were managed, and they were slightly easier to find; as for the unmanaged toilets on the street, they were particularly dirty," Zhang concluded.

But they had a brand new experience this winter.

A public toilet in Haikou

"Now the public toilets in Haikou are not dirty, wet or smelly at all, and some toilets can also charge your phone, which is really convenient," Zhang commended. There are clear signs at intersections telling visitors where to find a public toilet. If in doubt, visitors can find locations of public toilets in WeChat's service account.

Old public toilets were remotely selected in the past, making it difficult for tourists to find. Now, the unified Chinese and English signs are set within 300 meters at the intersection of public toilets. Many local hotels have joined the city's open toilet league, allowing travelers to use their own wash rooms. "We welcome visitors to the hotel to use our toilets, as it is corporations giving back to the community," a local hotel director said.

"Controllable cost and sustainability are the future goals of Haikou's public toilet campaign," director of Haikou's Bureau for Environmental Health Liu Jian added. 

There is room to explore with making better use of public toilets, turning traffic into a beneficial economy, covering operating costs, and taking into account the benefits of social services.

(Compiled by Xu Zheqi)