Don’t lose your cultural composition for the toilet

Although the toilet is small, it is a universal olfactory and visual language, and it is the shortest straight line in civilized communication. "The toilet is the measure of human civilization," and the toilet has been ignored by us for too long. . On the topic of the three-year "tourist toilet revolution" being implemented across the country, Li Jinzao, director of the National Tourism Administration, accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the 17th and pointed out that "the worst impression of overseas tourists on China's tourism environment is the toilet."

As we all know, there are three international organizations in the world whose English abbreviations are both "WTO": World Trade Organization, World Tourism Organization, and World Toilet Organization. As the founder of the World Toilet Organization said, "Toilet is the measure of human civilization." The toilet is the universal olfactory and visual language around the world. It is the shortest straight line in civilization communication and embodies the evolution of civilization. As a world power, an ancient civilization and a major tourist country, my country has a serious toilet shortage and lagging management situation that must be changed. The "Toilet Revolution" is a national civilization project. This year, our country launched a three-year national tourism toilet construction and management action. Toilets are windows of civilization, tourism elements, and a manifestation of progress. As a major tourist country, our country's tourist toilets are dirty and messy, and tourists have strongly complained about them. It is the weakest link in the public service system. Faced with thousands of years of discrimination against toilets, contempt for toilets, lack of toilet culture and stubborn toilet habits, there is an urgent need to carry out a revolutionary change targeting the "last corner" of tourism.

How to deal with ordinary people’s reluctance to talk about toilets? Our country's traditional culture emphasizes "import" rather than "export". It only talks about delicious food, and regards the toilet as a dirty place and is ashamed to talk about it. We must establish the concept of a civilized window in the toilet. Toilets are not synonymous with "dirty, messy, and poor", nor are they a garbage dump. Instead, they should be a place where people can relax, be happy, and enjoy themselves. Many of Ouyang Xiu's wonderful sentences were born when he went to the toilet. "Most of the articles I wrote in my life were written on three subjects, namely on horseback, on pillows, and on the toilet." This was also considered to be inelegant. We need to value toilets as much as we value restaurants. Take care of the toilet as much as you take care of the living room. Beautify your toilets as you would a tourist attraction. This year's National Tourism Work Conference proposed seven elements of tourism: "food, toilet, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping and entertainment". "Toilet" was added and placed after eating because eating is the foundation of life and going to the toilet is an urgent need in life. However, the problem of toileting has been ignored for a long time.

What do you think of the meaning of the sentence "Some people say that the gap between a big tourist country and a powerful country is like a toilet"? Tourists will not travel to a place because the toilets are good, but they may not want to go there again because the toilets are poor. The toilet is the area where overseas tourists have the strongest reaction, worst impression and most helpless response to my country's tourism environment. An old pilot who has lived overseas for more than 40 years wrote to me: "In the autumn of 2013, I met more than a hundred people from a foreign tour group while on a trip to the Three Gorges. During the conversation, they all praised all aspects of China, but the most disturbing thing was There is a problem with public toilets in scenic spots. I saw a foreign lady peeing in her pants because there was no clean toilet in the toilet. "Especially some young students who came to our country originally wanted to see one of the four ancient civilizations, but they couldn't. I wanted to escape when I entered the toilet. In China, we don’t dare to eat or drink more for fear of “convenience”. "Going to the toilet in China" is a daunting prospect for many foreigners. Based on this, we must reverse the pattern of "wanting to go to ancient civilizations and fearing Chinese toilets".

Do people in various places believe that powder should be applied on the face? The toilet is also a face. Many places do not hesitate to spend a lot of manpower and financial resources to promote scenic spots, but are unwilling to build and manage toilets in a down-to-earth manner. A "dirty, messy and poor" toilet can instantly destroy all efforts to promote tourism, and the negative impact is difficult to recover. Our country receives more than 3.7 billion tourists every year. On average, each person goes to the toilet 8 times during a domestic trip, and tourists use the toilet more than 27 billion times every year. To discover beauty, enjoy beauty, and spread beauty, we must first solve the astronomical toilet problem. The toilet problem has troubled us for a long time and is almost unsolvable. To build a world tourism power, we must start from basic things such as toilets. The government and the market, enterprises and society, managers and consumers are mobilizing the whole society to build toilet civilization.

What is the subject of the toilet revolution? Toilets are tourist public service facilities and important infrastructure, and local governments should be identified as the main body.

It is necessary to promote local governments to include toilets in local government infrastructure construction plans, and encourage owner units, competent departments and local governments to assume main responsibilities in toilet construction and management. The construction and management of small toilets involves departments such as tourism, planning, industry and commerce, taxation, construction, environmental protection, municipal administration, and sanitation. Resources must be integrated in accordance with the concepts of marketization and socialization. By the end of 2017, tourist toilets in national tourist attractions, along tourist routes, transportation hubs, rural tourist spots, tourist restaurants, tourist entertainment venues, and leisure pedestrian areas must reach excellent standards. "Three points of construction and seven points of management." We should explore the path of “using business to support toilets”. Treat toilets as development opportunities and business opportunities, and make toilet construction and management feasible and profitable. A history of toilets is also a history of technological change. The invention of the flush toilet brought about a revolution in human toilets. Our country's toilets have made great progress from open-air to indoor, dry-type to flush-type toilets, but the overall technical application level lags behind. It is necessary to actively use new technologies and new materials to build toilets so that they meet the requirements of modern fashion, convenience and practicality, energy and water conservation, and environmental protection.

How should people in the toilet maintain civilized habits? To achieve a toilet revolution, it is far from enough for toilet builders and managers to take action. Toilet users must “revolution” themselves. Everyone should develop civilized toilet habits and resist vulgar toilet behaviors. Going to the toilet is uncivilized, and Chinese citizens traveling abroad have been criticized, which makes us ashamed. Every citizen must be conscious of using the toilet in a civilized manner. Start from home, start from childhood, and carry out lifelong education. In the next three years, we will release the "China Tourism Toilet Construction and Management Action Report" to the public every year. Advanced toilet construction and management should be promoted, and typical places with dirty and messy toilets should be exposed. The three-year tourism toilet construction and management campaign cannot solve all problems, but it must sow the seeds of toilet civilization.