The Chinese government is right to refurbish the nation’s many public restrooms which are in a state of disrepair, left in the past as the rest of the infrastructure was rapidly modernized. Internet access, ATMs and stall-based TV screens, however, are probably not necessary. The lavish remake is marked by another curiosity: While hi-tech gear is linked up everywhere, at least some of the loos are continuing the old-school tradition of a communal roll of toilet paper.

From Javier C. Hernández of the New York Times:

BEIJING — Li Wen had heard about the turbo-strength flush power and the lily-scented soap. He knew about the stalls equipped with personal television screens and wireless Internet access, the soothing cello soundtrack and the windows lined with aloe vera plants.

But Mr. Li, 39, a salesman, was skeptical when he set foot in the new public toilet at the corner of Fuqian Square in Fangshan, a district in southwest Beijing.

“What was wrong with the old one?” he said. “The government has too much money and doesn’t know how to spend it.”

Modern technology has changed nearly every facet of life in China in recent years, turning backwoods precincts into bustling cities and bringing cellphones to more than a billion people. But public restrooms in many areas have remained largely unchanged, equipped with the same squat toilets and concrete pits that Chinese people have used for generations.

As the government seeks to improve sanitation and reduce environmental waste across the country, it is planning a major overhaul of public toilets. Over the next three years, it will build or renovate 57,000 restrooms, including some that will resemble the high-tech facility in Fangshan, the first of its kind in China.•