Timers seen above cubicles at ladies’ toilet in China, staff says it’s to manage crowd

Visitors concerned by timers above toilet cubicles in China tourist attraction

While visiting a popular tourist spot in China, a woman was concerned when she noticed timers above each cubicle in the ladies’ toilet.

Besides showing whether the cubicle was occupied or not, the timers appeared to display the amount of time a cubicle had been occupied for.

The attraction has said that the timers were installed in order to manage the increased tourist numbers there.

Timers in China toilet appear to display how long cubicle has been occupied

A video of the toilet was posted by a netizen on Tuesday (4 June), reported Xiaoxiang Morning News (潇湘晨报), which uploaded it to Douyin.

In the clip, LED displays were seen above every cubicle of the toilet. They appeared to flash green to indicate that a cubicle was empty and red when it was occupied.

However, when the cubicle was occupied, the display also disconcertingly changed to a timer that showed how long the user had been inside.

Toilet reportedly located at scenic attraction in Shanxi

The woman reportedly said the toilet was located in Yungang Grottoes, a scenic attraction in Shanxi Province.

On Friday (7 June), another tourist who had just visited the attraction told Xiaoxiang that she saw something similar at the ladies’ toilet downstairs from the ticketing hall.

Outside, a screen showed a floor plan of the toilet, with green and red lights indicating which stalls were occupied in real-time.

At first, she thought the feature was very “cutting edge” and helped visitors avoid the need to queue up blindly and knock on cubicle doors.

However, she also felt a bit “embarrassed”, like she was “being watched”, she said.

Timers not meant to control toilet use: China attraction

In response to queries from Xiaoxiang, the management of Yungang Grottoes said the timers are not meant to control the amount of time one uses the toilet.

There is no time limit, nor would it be possible to kick users out while they’re still in the cubicles.

The timing displays are just meant to show that someone was inside the cubicle for that period of time, a staff member said, adding:

Netizens don’t understand the situation and are letting their imaginations run wild.

Timers in response to increased visitor numbers

Another staff member said that the installation of the timers was in response to increased visitor numbers, reported Star Video (星视频).

The bigger crowd had led to a situation where there were insufficient toilets, especially since the facilities are free, she was heard saying in a video.

Thus, the displays were installed due to fears that some visitors would spend too long within, she reportedly added.

The public feedback would be conveyed to the leadership, so the displays might be adjusted to indicate only whether the stall was occupied and do away with the timers.

Also read: Woman In China Does Her Business Using Store’s Display Toilet, Owner Left Mortified

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Featured image adapted from Xiaoxiang Morning News via The Paper on Weibo.