Beijing Public Toilets; Public Toilets in Beijing Hutongs and Great Wall

Chinese public toilets can be unpleasant, head for one of Beijing’s many McDonalds for an upmarket hotel if it’s convenient.

• Always carry toilet paper with you
• Do not put toilet paper into the bowl

Public Toilets in Hutongs

Old style Beijing hutong toilets have no sewer system, everything just empties into an enormous hole directly underneath where you squat. The hole slowly fills up through the week until the ironically named ‘hygiene truck’ arrives to suck it all out with an enormous tube. Visiting one of these establishments during a sweltering Beijing summer as a week’s worth of Chinese shit ferments a few feet below you is an experience to be forgotten if possible.

The stench brings tears to the eyes and makes the head swim, you can actually feel the heat rising up from beneath you. The air blackens with thousands of flies and you walk out feeling as if you’ve just showered in that which you just got rid of. The smell, which you first caught a whiff of at the end of the street, will follow you for about three days.

Chinese Public Toilet

Public Toilets in the Great Wall

It is easy to find the bathrooms at the foot of Great Wall, like in the parking lot or restaurant area, while how about up on the Wall?

Here is a map of the Great Wall, which you can find all about the public services in the Great Wall.

Mutianyu Great Wall Map