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Public toilet in Beijing: can you spot any flies? Kalevkevad via Flickr
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No flies on them: Chinese city bans flies from public toilets

Meanwhile Beijing authorities have said two flies are allowed in the lavatories at any one time…

THE CHINESE CITY of Sanya has banned flies from more than 100 public toilets.

It comes after Beijing announced new regulations last week stating that lavatories used by the public should contain no more than two flies. The Beijing Times reports that improving the smell of the notoriously unpleasant facilities is also recommended.

China Daily reports that the new regulations in Sanya, which is in Hainan province, applies to 110 of the 400 public lavatories in the city – the ones that are managed directly by the sanitation bureau.

It’s also reported that local residents have questioned how the counting of flies on the toilets is going to be carried out. The city of Nanchang in Jiangxi province meanwhile has decided to allow three flies in its toilets at any one time.

Back in Beijing, BBC reporter Michael Bristow says that he only ventures into the city’s public toilets “at the most desperate of times”. Bristow also reports though that in some older neighbourhoods many homes do not have their own facilities, so using public restrooms is the only option for some residents

No flies on them: Chinese city bans flies from public toilets
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  • Beijing public toilet

    Image: Robennals via Flickr/Creative Commons
  • Beijing public toilet

    Image: Peregrinari via Flickr/Creative Commons
  • Four star toilets

    Some public toilets in Beijing are given a star rating. The ratings were brought in in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. Image: RachelKSO via Flickr
  • Toilet at Olympic Forest Park in Beijing

    Image: SuSanaA Secretariat via Flickr/Creative Commons
  • Signs outside a Beijing public toilet

    Image: Mitch Altman via Flickr/Creative Commons

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