ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Local authorities in China have been told to rein in their spending on creating so-called "five-star" toilets.

The government initiated a drive to improve the nation's washrooms in 2015 in a "toilet revolution" designed to enhance tourism.

China is known for its dirty public toilets with many rural people using open pits with no sewerage connection.

But in an apparent bid to gain favour with the government, some officials have carried out over-the-top improvements including washrooms with refrigerators packed with drinks, microwave ovens, automatic shoe polishers and free toiletries.

Other facilities across the country allow visitors to charge their phones, access wifi and use toilet paper via a facial recognition dispenser.

"We don't need local governments trying to outdo each other with five-star toilets,'" said Li Jinzao, director of the China National Tourism Administration. "We just need to build practical public facilities based on local conditions that are both accessible and convenient."

When Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed to clean up China's public toilets he described the move as a "concrete part of advancing our country's revitalisation".

Around 70,000 toilets have already been built under the scheme with another 64,000 expected to be constructed or transformed by 2020.

A toilet costing 800,000 yuan - more than €100,000 - was built in the south-western city of Chongqing in 2016. The 150sq m marble and wood facility has a central heating system that maintains an ambient temperature throughout the year. And a second facility in the north-western Qinghai province cost 2.7 million yuan to build (€340,000) and features flat-screen televisions.