Missing etiquette

Some Chinese have yet to develop the habit of waiting in line and maintaining a clean environment at toilets, according to a few cleaners interviewed at tourist spots in Beijing's Dongcheng district.

Page says that he counted six queue-jumpers while waiting to use a restroom at Yonghe Lama Temple. It was supposed to take him two minutes, but he ended up spending 25 minutes waiting.

Another problem that visitors often face is the lack of free toilet rolls at public restrooms.

Toni Pearcey, a 26-year-old Australian who has lived in Beijing for about two years, still feels embarrassed recalling her first experience in a Chinese public toilet.

"I had diarrhea on the day I traveled to the Great Wall. I trotted quickly down to the toilet, only to find that there was no tissue paper available when I stood over the squatting pot," she says.

In Australia, free toilet paper is generally available in public restrooms. "Now I carry tissues whenever I go to a toilet anywhere (in China)," she says, laughing.

Generally speaking, Beijing's hutong areas have a sufficient number of toilets. Visitors can easily find signs that lead to them. But most such toilets are filthy.

"I cannot see any cleaners but only squalid floor, used toilet paper and sputum. It can be a nightmare," says a male student surnamed Gao from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

A 59-year-old unnamed female toilet cleaner in Dongcheng district says group travelers often jump queues when using public toilets.

"Many visitors use toilet rolls indiscriminately and often spit on the ground," she says.