7.8.07

No more crispy duck served at toilets

Food stalls attached to Beijing's public toilets will be removed in good time for next year's Olympics, state media said Saturday. Complaints over toilets with poor sanitation and toilet operators turning them into commercial operations led to the ban, which comes into force in October. "It is not proper to sell soft drinks or snacks right at the toilets," the Beijing News said, citing sources within the Beijing Municipal Administration Commission. "The city authorities also plan to publish a toilet guide, provide toilet information over the telephone and the Internet and erect more road signs to help toilet users." Billboards near toilets will also be banned, Xinhua news agency said. Notoriously polluted Beijing is cleaning up its act before it hosts the Olympics. It has also announced crackdowns on spitting and smelly taxis.