600 'Three-star-rated' toilets to be build under China's "toilet revo-loo-tion"

BEIJING: China plans to build 600 'three-star-rated' toilets in one of the country's most popular tourist areas as part of its " toilet revo-loo-tion".

The plan by Yunnan province's committee of tourism development will see the local government spend $5 million every year until 2017 as part of the campaign to build new high-quality toilets and also upgrade existing facilities, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

The target is for a total of 336 new toilets to be built at popular tourists destinations in Yunnan, which is famous for its beautiful mountains and countryside.

A further 265 toilets are to be upgraded. Last month China announced its toilet revolution following complaints from tourists.

The committee said that in the past, tourists had complained about problems of insanitary, poor quality toilets at Yunnan's tourist sites, which had harmed the image of tourism.

The new measures would "ensure the construction of toilets at tourist sites reaches a high level in the country, which will assist the province's tourism industry", the Post quoted an official news portal as reporting.

The plan is expected to formally published by the committee soon, the provincial government's website reported.

It also said local government officials would be assessed on the quality of the work carried out to improve the province's toilets.

Li Jinzao, director of China National Tourism Administration said at the National Tourism Conference that the central government planned to spend the next three years promoting toilet improvements at tourist sites.

By 2017, toilets in the nation's major tourist scenic spots, including travel routes, restaurants, entertainment venues and transport hubs would be of a "three-star rating", including high quality, hygienic and better managed, he said, the Post reported.