An architectural rendering of a public restroom to be built in Beijing. (Photo/Beijing News)
(ECNS) -- There are plans to build or renovate a total of 700 public restrooms in Beijing this year, including 100 "fifth space" restrooms that will offer WiFi and other services, Beijing News reported on Friday.
According to the municipality's plans, residents will only need to walk 5 to 10 minutes or 300 to 500 meters to find a public restroom.
The 100 "fifth space" restrooms will be built in Tongzhou and Fangshan districts.
Earlier, the Beijing Environment Sanitation Engineering Group said the "fifth space" concept redefines public restrooms by integrating modern technology, basic public functions and landscape design, thus making them the fifth space after the family, workplace, social networking space and virtual space.
Besides basic functions, a "fifth space" public restroom will have several independent areas, such as a third restroom or those especially designed to cater to the needs of the disabled, the elderly or mothers and babies. Each will also include a lounge and a shower room for sanitary workers, while a public lounge equipped with vending machines, automatic teller machines and e-commerce terminals will also be available.
All these restrooms will be covered by WiFi networks, while electric vehicle charging points and smart recycling machines will be located outside.
An anonymous industry insider told the paper that construction of a conventional public restroom costs about 200,000 yuan, while such a "fifth space" one needs an additional investment of around 100,000 yuan.
Beijing is likely to issue a new construction standard for public restrooms in October, which will set appropriate ratios of male to female public restrooms according to different needs at different places.
Of the build and renovation plans, restrooms along public transport or tourist routes will account for the biggest share, or 32 percent, with 215 to be upgraded and 10 new ones to be built.
Apps that have been designed to help Beijing residents locate their nearest public restrooms seem to function poorly, the paper also added.
