Mobile Toilets in West Lake Park

The mobile toilets in West Lake Park (Huizhou West Lake Scenic Area) previously adopted a 'tide toilet' design, but later removed the sliding signs and switched to a fixed switching function due to controversy.

Initial Design and Purpose of Tide Toilets

The 'tide toilet' sign design in West Lake Park allowed manual sliding to change the male and female signs, operable without a key or password. The original intention of this design was to address the issue of long queues for female toilets during peak tourist seasons by temporarily adjusting the allocation of toilet stalls (such as converting some male toilet stalls to female use) to dynamically balance the demand for male and female toilet stalls. The scenic area once stated that the signs were operated by staff and that there were dedicated guides on-site to ensure the adjustment process was standardized and orderly.

Controversies and Issues

Despite the reasonable initial intention, multiple issues emerged during actual operation:

1. Privacy Risks: The signs could be freely moved, leading to a potential mismatch between the gender signs on the toilet stalls and their actual usage. Users might mistakenly enter toilets of the opposite gender, raising concerns about privacy violations.
2. Lack of Management: On-site visits revealed that the sign operation was unattended, allowing tourists to adjust the signs themselves, which contradicted the scenic area's claim of 'dedicated guidance'.
3. Insufficient Protection: There was a lack of physical protection measures (such as locks or electronic controls), making it impossible to prevent the signs from being maliciously or accidentally operated, further exacerbating management chaos.

Subsequent Improvement Measures

In response to the controversy, the scenic area officially apologized on September 11, 2026, and removed all sliding signs, switching to a fixed sign switching function. The new system likely achieves toilet stall adjustments through physical isolation or electronic control, requiring operation by authorized personnel to prevent tourists from freely changing the signs, thereby enhancing privacy protection and management standardization.

Summary

The 'tide toilet' design in West Lake Park was an attempt by the scenic area to dynamically allocate toilet stalls, but it sparked controversy due to privacy risks and management loopholes. Ultimately, by removing the sliding signs and upgrading to a fixed switching function, the scenic area balanced the demand for toilet stalls with user safety, providing a reference for improvement in similar scenarios.