Popular China Tourist Spot Puts LED Timers at Each Women Toilet Cubicle to Deal with Increase in Visitors

UNESCO World Heritage site the Yungang Buddhist Grottoes in Shanxi, China is 1 of the most popular tourist destinations in the country thanks to the over 51,000 ancient statues carved into 252 caves and inches some 1,500 years ago.

However, the popular tourist spot recently caught the attention of netizens in China for a whole other reason, after photos and videos of its women’s restroom surfaced on Chinese social media sites.

Installing LED timers in women’s restroom to show how long the user has been inside

According to 新浪新闻 on Weibo, the posts showed that the female restroom at the Yungang Buddhist Grottoes has LED screen timers installed outside of each cubicle, which shows the amount of time that the person inside has been there. 

When the stall is unoccupied, the LED screen will turn green with the word “vacant”.  Meanwhile, when it’s occupied, the LED will turn red and start showing the amount of time the toilet user has been inside in minutes and seconds.

The post by 新浪新闻 added that the original video was taken by a visitor who sent it to the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald, who shared that she felt the timers as a bit embarrassing for the toilet users and that it makes it feel as if one’s being monitored while doing their ‘business’.

The measure was meant to cope with the increase in visitors to the site

The yungang buddhist grottoes

A staff member at the Yungang Buddhist Grottoes has since clarified that the timers were there to cope with the increase in visitors to the tourist site.

The staff member said,

“They aren’t there to control the amount of time you’re in the toilet. It’s impossible for us to kick someone midway.”

“Furthermore, we aren’t setting a time limit for how long you can use the toilet such as 5 or 10 minutes.”

For illustration purposes

So, what do you guys think of the LED toilet timers? Do you think something like this should be implemented in our country?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

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