September 26th, six women’s standing urinals officially being tested at Shaanxi Normal University public restrooms, the students using them to urinate while standing still a bit shy. Female standing urination has ushered in a tough practice in colleges and universities.
Special signs were designed next to the urinals: “If every woman can urinate standing, Shaanxi Normal University can save 160 tons of water.” Around the urinals are specially designed partitions to avoid awkwardness while using the toilet; the partitions are decorated with pink patterns, with this kind of warm design mainly done to reduce women’s apprehension [of using these toilets]. Next to the urinals are specially placed funnels.
Seven college student union representatives from Shaanxi province arrived that day to participate in the ceremony for implementing the Shaanxi Normal University female urinal, all of them being female students. One student representative said that the experience was indeed very novel, having listened to the professors explain the significance of doing so, having the courage to try, yet not knowing what to do after entering the toilet. One female shyly entered the toilet and upon exiting said, “[I] was there for a 2-3 minutes, but couldn’t urinate.” A second year female graduate student said new things require everyone to gradually accept, the first time definitely going to be bad, and that one needs to practice a few times before they become accustomed.
As it is understood, one female urinal costs 2000 yuan, with the promoter of this innovation being National People’s Congress representative and Shaanxi Normal University Professor Qu Yajun. In April, Qu Yajun expressed to school president/chancellor for the first time his hope for installing female standing urinals on campus. The school afterward decided to places 3 standing urinals at newly built women’s toilets on two campuses.
September 26th, Xi’an, Ye Ganlin explains her environmental protection philosophy at the standing urinal public toilet located on Taibai Road, the 72-year-old retired senior engineer being the country’s first person to practice female standing urination.
September 26th, Xi’an, the standing urinal public toilet located on Taibai Road is unisex but it is still mostly men who use the toilet. With regards to promoting [the practice], Qu Yajun says that it is not often the men who find it most difficult to accept but rather the women themselves. Because of physiological factors, standing urination [for women] requires a funnel. For a grown woman to hold such a thing to urinate is something that most females find difficult to accept.
