The Shenzhen government will build more public toilets to alleviate the scarcity of toilets in the city, the city's urban management authority has announced.

Shenzhen has only 637 public toilets in total, with just 40 located within the special economic zone.

According to the construction ministry regulations, there should be at least three public toilets per square kilometer in urban areas, with a toilet every 300 to 500 meters along busy roads. In central Shenzhen, however, there are only two public toilets per 10,000 square meters. There is no toilet on the five-kilometer-long Binhe Road.

Aside from the scarcity of public toilets, the urban management authority has found the toilets' layout had not been carefully planned.

The city's tourism authority has demanded that all the hotels open their toilets to the public.

According to the urban management authority, it will make a regulation requiring not only hotels but also restaurants to open their toilets to the public.

In recent years, a large number of public toilets have been destroyed within the special economic zone. The urban management authority now requires that from now on those who want to destroy a public toilet have to build a new one in its first place.

The management will also introduce mobile toilets in some areas of Shenzhen.

Shanghai has invested more than 200 million yuan (US$24.7 million) over the past 10 years to renovate its public toilets.

The city's efforts to improve its international image include fitting technologically advanced lighting and washing facilities, adding special seats for disabled people and redesigning restroom exteriors.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2005)