Mobile Toilets for the 11th National Day Parade

During the 11th National Day Parade (the grand gathering to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), to address the toilet needs of hundreds of thousands of military personnel and civilians, Beijing Sanitation Group implemented multiple measures, including placing mobile toilets, adjusting the number of toilet stalls, and having the reviewing troops take special measures to reduce their toilet needs.

Configuration and Types of Mobile Toilets:
Beijing Sanitation Group placed 596 mobile toilets around Tiananmen Square and along Chang'an Avenue, including 3,540 newly produced toilet stalls and 1,505 repaired ones. These mobile toilets came in various types to meet different scenario requirements:

• Tent Toilets: With white roofs, these were placed in areas with the highest foot traffic. They featured spacious interiors and high turnover efficiency, quickly meeting the toilet needs of large crowds.
• Trailer Toilets: Resembling cars in appearance, these were placed in open areas. Their advantage lay in their mobility, allowing them to be flexibly repositioned according to the distribution of foot traffic on-site.
• Single Toilets: Installed near relatively narrow alleys, these were compact in size and suitable for areas with limited space, ensuring toilet convenience for nearby residents and tourists.

Flexible Adjustment of Toilet Stall Numbers:
To address the difference in toilet usage ratios between men and women, a detachable sign design for mobile toilets was adopted on-site. Staff could quickly adjust the number of male and female toilet stalls by removing signs and partitions based on real-time monitoring of the male-to-female ratio. The process of reconfiguring a toilet took only a few minutes, greatly improving resource utilization efficiency and avoiding queues or resource waste caused by unreasonable stall allocation.

Special Measures Taken by the Reviewing Troops:
To reduce their toilet needs during the parade, the reviewing troops implemented multiple measures:

• Wearing Special Diapers: Approximately 90% of the troops wore diapers during the parade to cope with the demands of standing and marching for extended periods.
• Adjusting Water Intake and Diet: Three days before the parade began, the troops started controlling the timing and amount of water they drank. For breakfast, they chose high-energy foods as their main staple and avoided foods like porridge that easily induced the need to urinate.
• Psychological Counseling: Through psychological counseling, troops reduced their nervousness, further minimizing the urge to urinate caused by psychological factors and ensuring the smooth progress of the parade.