With 51,000 statues carved in 252 caves and niches around 1,500 years ago, the Yungang Buddhist Caves of China It’s undeniably an impressive sight.
But in recent days, the bathrooms at this UNESCO World Heritage Site have gotten more attention than the view.
A video recently shared on several Chinese news and social media sites shows a series of timers installed above a row of toilet cubicles in a women’s bathroom; with each cabin receiving its own digital meter.
When a chamber is empty, the pixelated LED display displays the word “empty” in green. If used, it shows the number of minutes and seconds that the door was locked.
“We’re not going to kick anyone out of the bathroom.”
The original video was reportedly taken by a visitor who sent it to the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, a local state-run newspaper.
“I thought it was technologically advanced enough that you didn’t have to queue outside or knock on the bathroom door,” the visitor was quoted as saying.
“But I also found it a little boring. I felt like I was being watched.”
A member of the attraction’s staff reportedly told the Xioxiang Morning Herald that the timers were installed to cope with the increase in visitors to the attraction – and this includes facilities within the tourist area.
“They are not there to control how long you can use the bathrooms,” said the employee, quoted by the newspaper.
“It is impossible to throw someone out (of the bathroom) in the middle of the process. And we don’t put a time limit, like five or 10 minutes, on how long someone can use the bathrooms.”
The Nanchang Evening News, a state-run newspaper, quoted a park official as saying that the timer has been running since May 1 this year and is mainly a safety measure, “ensuring the well-being of all visitors, should some visitors use the bathroom for a long period of time and an emergency arises.”
The news generated a lot of discussion on social media in China.
Some netizens on the popular microblogging platform Weibo supported the new timers, saying they would discourage visitors from sitting down and browsing on their cellphones.
Visitor registration
The Yungang Buddhist Grottoes, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2001, are one of the biggest attractions in northern China’s Shanxi province.
The ticketing scenic area received 3 million visitors in 2023, a record number for the tourism sector and a significant increase compared to the second busiest year, 2019 (with 1.98 million visits).
And the Yungang Buddhist Caves have improved more than just their bathrooms. In recent years, authorities have introduced new shows and added new mini-attractions to the area to increase its appeal.
Source: CNN