Luxurious public toilets fail to meet public need

A public toilet built to look like the US Capitol building has luxurious facilities in Fuyang city, Anhui province, May 13, 2014. [Photo/icpress.cn]

A scenic spot in yancheng, East China's Jiangsu province, has reportedly built four luxurious public toilets, each costing more than 2 million yuan ($310,680). A commentary on scol.com.cn says the money would have been better spent on more less luxurious toilets.

In fact, what the scenic spot really needs is not some costly high-end toilets, but a lot more ordinary ones that serve their purpose and cater to tourists' needs. As an essential part of urban construction and management and an indispensable facility in public places, public washrooms are always in short supply and poorly managed.

Many tourists and residents still have to queue for a long time to use smelly toilets; some even relieve themselves in the open if their need is urgent. This tarnishes a city's image.

However, some tourist places have built expensive toilets to "fulfill tourists' needs", which is a fool's errand that hardly contributes to attracting visitors. Most people will only spend a few minutes in the toilet, luxurious or not.

The real problem is that public places such as scenic spots, train stations, and parks still lack enough normal public facilities, which would be more useful to and welcomed by both locals and tourists.

The "five-star toilets" will also require more expensive maintenance, which is a considerable waste of public money.

Such being said, spending so much on building and maintaining a few top-notch toilets is hardly a solution to the lack of public toilets; it is the ordinary ones based on actual public demand that can efficiently reduce people's inconvenience.