Gotta Go China Style

Chinese Toilets

While our hotel offered perfectly new porcelain thrones (often sprinkled with orchid leaves in the bowl) in both our rooms and the lobby I was surprised that 99% of the toilets beyond the hotel were "Chinese Toilets"

I just googled "Chinese Toilets" and ehow.com provides the best explanation of the "how to" use the Chinese Toilets most effectively for the ladies:

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• toilet paper
• strong knees and ankles
• courage to endure very unpleasant odors and sights
• anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, or wipes

Step1

You are at that point. You cannot hold it any longer and the hotel is miles away. You find a place to go and nope, not a single stall is hiding the treasured Western toilet. Fret not, with a bit of practice and preparation, you will be in and out, business concluded, before you faint from the smell.First thing's first. Take your tissue (you should always keep some with you) out and hang up any bags or coats or objects that might drag. If you feel uncomfortable with this, or if there aren't any hooks, secure whatever items you may have on you. You don't want anything dangling off you.

Step2

Stand with a foot on either side of the bowl, or trough, or hole, facing toward the door (or where the door should be). There might even be places for the feet made obvious with ridged footpads.

Step3

If wearing trousers, unfasten them. Now, in one move, grab your underwear and trousers at the hips, slide them down AND bend the knees. This will leave you with the seat of your trousers baggy, so with a firm grip on both your trousers and underwear, lower further, bunch up the material and tuck it under your knees. You should now be squatting over the toilet, rear end exposed, and trousers securely fixed in the bend of the knees.

Step4

Before you relieve yourself, check for alignment. You should be squarely over the toilet/hole, as low as you can be, and if you have properly tucked your trousers under you, you should see an ample gap between your lap and your knees. Also, if wearing baggy pants, you should make sure that no part of the lower leg is in danger of getting splashed on.

Step5

Complete your business, doing your best to balance. If feeling wobbly, you might want to hold the bottom of the door in front of you, if there is one.

Step6

Once done, remember that toilet paper goes in the bin provided next to the toilet (if there isn't one, just drop it as usual). Now that that's finished, pull up and congratulate yourself for a job well done!

Other commentary: http://www.thebeijingguide.com/toilets/chinese_toilets.html