With the Olympics approaching, Beijing will be facing probably the heaviest tourist flow. To ensure that travelers can find restrooms when they need to "answer the call of nature", the capital is planning to publish a regulation for managing public toilets.

In the regulation that will become effective on July 1, travelers can dial a hotline for directions if they need to find the nearest WC, said the Beijing Times.

"In addition to setting up guideposts indicating the way to nearby WCs, we will publicize their locations by latitude and longitude on related websites, city maps and traveling brochures," said Ma Kangding, an official from the Beijing Municipal Administration Commission.

Beijing now has 5,333 public toilets and 270 mobile ones. The commission is working on locating each toilet using the Global Positioning System, Ma said.

The commission will open a hotline as soon as the location work is done and residents and travelers can be directed to the nearest lavatory with references of their positions.

A total of 761 mobile toilets will be installed in Olympic venues and 800 more will be distributed in nearby areas. The regulation also poses a fine of up to 30,000 yuan for those who destroy or close public toilets without permission.

Local residents and travelers are also called to help maintain a clean and healthy environment when using public WCs.

(CRI June 26, 2008)