Mobile Toilet Design in Scenic Spots of Taiyuan

The mobile toilet design in scenic spots of Taiyuan focuses on flexible adjustments and resource optimization, effectively alleviating the toilet access issues during peak tourist periods through spatial conversion, facility allocation, and flow optimization.

1. Temporary Conversion of Spatial Functions to Increase Female Toilet Capacity

During the May Day holiday, the Jinci Scenic Spot in Taiyuan addressed the long queues at female toilets by temporarily converting a male toilet at the entrance area into a female toilet. This design, based on accurate predictions of tourist gender ratios and toilet needs, directly increased the number of toilet stalls for women by adjusting spatial functions. For example, the urinal area in the original male toilet could be transformed into temporary stalls or divided into more toilet spaces using movable partitions, thereby enhancing the reception capacity of female toilets in a short time. This “dual-purpose” design approach meets peak demands while avoiding the cost waste associated with long-term renovations.

2. Buses as Mobile Male Toilets for Flexible Facility Supplementation

The scenic spot deployed well-equipped and clean buses as mobile male toilets, parked in areas that do not obstruct tourist movement or detract from the ancient architectural aesthetics. The interiors of these buses were renovated to include multiple independent urinals or squat toilets, along with ventilation, lighting, and cleaning systems to ensure a user experience comparable to that of fixed toilets. Their key advantage lies in their high mobility, allowing dynamic repositioning based on tourist distribution to prevent resource idleness or congestion caused by improper siting of fixed toilets. Additionally, the exterior design of the buses can be harmonized with the scenic environment to minimize visual interference with the ancient architectural landscape.

3. Flow Optimization and Flexible Adjustments for Diversion and Pressure Relief

Based on on-site flow patterns and usage efficiency, the scenic spot temporarily designated the less-used restroom at Wuyun Pavilion as female-only. This design redistributes toilet resources from remote areas to high-demand zones by analyzing tourist movement paths, creating a “nearby diversion” effect. For instance, although the Wuyun Pavilion restroom is relatively remote, signage guidance and flow optimization can attract some female tourists who would otherwise gather at the entrance area, thereby reducing pressure on the core zone. Simultaneously, the flexible adjustment strategy allows the scenic spot to dynamically modify toilet functions based on real-time tourist data, preventing inefficiencies caused by rigid resource allocation.

4. Effect Verification: Significant Increase in Reception Capacity

The aforementioned designs increased the average daily reception capacity of female toilets in the scenic spot from approximately 3,000 to 5,000 person-times, effectively alleviating queue issues. This achievement results from the synergistic effects of spatial reconfiguration, facility supplementation, and flow optimization, providing a replicable solution for other scenic spots: during peak tourist periods, temporary functional conversions, investment in mobile facilities, and intelligent diversion can rapidly enhance toilet service capacity while balancing costs and landscape preservation.