China’s Yungang Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has received added attention after a visitor sent a video to the local newspaper Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, according to CNN.
The video featured the female bathroom located at the tourist destination. It depicted a “digital counter” above each stall, which — when occupied — displayed the number of seconds and minutes the door had been locked.
Tourists and social media users are now exchanging opinions about whether the timers are effective or discomfiting.
What is a toilet timer?
The toilet timer display allows tourists to know when a stall is occupied.
“As the camera pans across, a display stating ‘no one inside’ switches from green to red, and a timer slowly ticks up,” according to Asia One.
A spokesperson of Yungang Grottoes reportedly assured the public that the devices do not control how long a guest can stay in the restroom. There is no alarm bell or “toilet police” that rushes in to usher tourists out after an allotted time.
“It’s impossible to kick people out in the middle of their business,” the representative said. “It’s not that users have to come out after five or 10 minutes.”
The timer has been in place since May 1. According to CNN, a staff member of Yungang Grottoes told Nanchang Evening News, a state-run newspaper, that the toilet timers are for everyone’s safety, “ensuring the well-being of all guests, in case some guests use the toilet for an extended period and an emergency occurs.”
Not all tourists are on board with the idea. Netizens on Weibo, a social media platform in China, seemed divided on whether the timers were effective.
Per CNN, one netizen asked, “Why don’t they just spend the money on building more washrooms?” Others said that the timers would discourage visitors to scroll on their phones while in the stalls.
“A tourist site isn’t an office,” commented one user. “Who would spend their time in the toilets? Is it really necessary?”
According to The Independent, this isn’t the first time people have expressed indignation at “the policing of their bathroom breaks.”
A tech firm’s office in Beijing “was blasted by social media users” in 2020 when they placed digital timers above toilet stalls.
Yungang Buddhist Grottoes
The Yungang Buddhist Grottoes are popular enough without talk of toilet timers. UNESCO describes the destination as a representation of “the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries.”
The five caves, designed by Tan Yao, “have played a vitally important role among early Oriental Buddhist grottoes and had a far-reaching impact on Buddhist cave art in China and East Asia.”