Year-ender: 10 major tourism stories of 2021

10 China ramps up efforts in improving public toilets

November 19 marks World Toilet Day, a day established by the United Nations to call attention to the sanitation crisis worldwide. This year's theme is "Valuing Toilets."

China has been making efforts to improve public toilets in recent years. The country launched a "toilet revolution" in 2015 to tackle sanitation problems at tourist sites. The latest data shows that some 64,000 toilets were built or renovated from 2018 to 2020 at tourist attractions.

The campaign was later expanded from cities to rural areas, and more rural households now have access to clean toilets. By the end of 2020, the coverage of sanitary toilets in rural areas surpassed 65 percent. Back in 1993, that number was merely 7.5 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Since 2016, major commercial districts, hospitals and transportation hubs in some cities have started to install such toilets. In addition, all 5A-level tourist attractions, the nation's highest level in terms of quality in tourism, are required to be equipped with such facilities.