Hardly once polite talk around the dinner table, the subject of using a public toilet has recently become just that, thanks to a remarkable innovation out of Chengdu which has made a discussion as to answering nature’s call around others now somewhat respectable.
使用公共厕所这个话题在餐桌上几乎不再是礼貌性的话题，但最近却变成了这样的话题，这要归功于成都的一项非凡创新，它让人们围绕着回应大自然的召唤进行讨论，现在变得有些受人尊敬了。
Along Xiyuan Avenue in Chengdu’s Pidu District sits a bus stop. Nothing unusual in that perhaps, until one’s gaze is diverted to an eye-catching structure just 20 metres distant; a public toilet.
成都市郫都区西园大道上有一个公交车站。也许这并没有什么不寻常的，直到人们的目光转移到仅 20 米外的一座引人注目的建筑上；一个公共厕所。
But not just any old public toilet. For this contraption is smart. And convenient. And clean. And good for the environment. Oh, and there you can also snap up a lottery ticket or slurp down a bowl of noodles, while you wait for your bus and go about your other “business”.
但不仅仅是任何旧的公共厕所。因为这个装置很聪明。而且方便。而且干净。并且有利于环境。哦，你还可以在那里抢购一张彩票或吃一碗面条，同时等待公共汽车并去做其他“事情”。
Specialising in green pollution-free toilets, Zhong He Qing Shan Toilet Technology’s automated demonstration unit beside its factory has saved over 3,400 kilograms of emissions since its installation in September, 2024.
中和青山马桶科技专注于绿色无污染厕所，其工厂旁的自动化示范装置自2024年9月安装以来，已减少排放3,400多公斤。
It’s an inspiring statistic; the potential for just one humble public toilet to save fully a tonne of emissions annually.
这是一个鼓舞人心的统计数据；仅仅一个简陋的公共厕所就有可能每年减少一吨的排放量。
Chinese President Xi Jinping referenced the “Toilet Revolution” as long ago as 2015 in describing the government campaign aimed at improving overall sanitary conditions in China, with particular emphasis on rural areas, tourist attractions and public toilets in general. And so it has come to be, with 127,000 public toilets either renovated or newly built since.
早在 2015 年，中国国家主席习近平在描述旨在改善中国整体卫生条件（特别是农村地区、旅游景点和公共厕所）的政府运动时就提到了“厕所革命”。 自此，我们已经翻修或新建了 127,000 个公厕。
For the Chairman of Zhong He Qing Shan Toilet Technology (Sichuan) Co. Ltd., Xu Jiping, it’s also an economic opportunity for sure, but one close to his heart that is very much as one with environmental protection.
对于中和青山卫浴科技（四川）有限公司董事长徐吉平来说，这当然也是一次经济机会，但更是一次贴近他心的机会，更是一次与环保的机会。
Himself from a rural upbringing in Sichuan Province, Xu discovered at a young age that the dry toilets in the countryside were more than just a place to defecate; they also had an associated output, namely high-quality organic fertiliser.
徐自己在四川省农村长大，他很小的时候就发现农村的旱厕不仅仅是一个排便的地方；他们还有相关产出，即优质有机肥料。
“When I was a kid, the tomatoes grown with organic fertiliser from the dry toilets in our village were delicious. I especially liked to eat these kinds of raw tomatoes when I was young. They were very good; they were the sweet taste of my childhood”, said Xu, speaking exclusively with The Nanjinger.
“小时候，我们村旱厕用有机肥种的西红柿很好吃。我小时候特别喜欢吃这种生西红柿，很好吃，是我小时候的甜甜的味道。”徐在接受《南京人》独家采访时说道。
Fast forward to 2008 and the unimaginable horror of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake in Sichuan that left in excess of 60,000 people dead and millions homeless.
快进到 2008 年，四川发生了难以想象的 8 级地震，造成超过 60,000 人死亡，数百万人无家可归。
Xu was among the first responders out of the door to Wenchuan in the immediate aftermath, where he was yet again reminded of his childhood, helping to dig pits to act as makeshift dry toilets in attempts to prevent the proliferation of bacteria that often comes in the wake of a major disaster.
灾难发生后，徐是第一批走出汶川大门的救援人员之一，在那里他再次想起了自己的童年，帮助挖坑作为临时旱厕，试图防止重大灾难后经常出现的细菌扩散。
Such emergency relief was to be his wake up call.
这种紧急救济为他敲响了警钟。
“I realised that the real solution to people’s excreta is actually related to humanitarian aid, to environmental protection and even the relationship that is every human’s dignity”, said Xu, speaking from his heart in the cafe that sits on the second floor of that demonstration unit.
“我意识到，真正解决人们的排泄物问题，其实关系到人道主义救援，关系到环境保护，甚至关系到每个人的尊严。”在示范单位二楼的咖啡馆里，徐先生发自内心地说。
Meanwhile, the patented technology at work beneath Zhong He Qing Shan’s public toilets is not only able to function at high altitudes and low temperatures, as low at minus 40 degrees; it can also recycle over 90 percent of human waste.
同时，中和青山公厕所采用的专利技术不仅能在高海拔、低温（低至-40度）的环境下工作，而且还能在低至零下40度的环境下工作。它还可以回收90%以上的人类排泄物。
Fully customisable and transportable (ideal for outdoor festivals), in different sizes, offering different services for all kinds of customers in all kinds of environments, such facilities are manifest by these being public toilets with power banks available for people to borrow, vending machines offering drinks or sanitary products, plus electronic advertising hoardings.
完全可定制和可运输（非常适合户外节日），有不同的规模，可以在各种环境下为各种顾客提供不同的服务，这些设施包括可供人们借用的带充电宝的公共厕所、提供饮料或卫生用品的自动售货机以及电子广告牌。
On the face of it, there is nothing not to love. Yet, challenges remain; the Chairman points to promotion and building brand awareness being atop his firm’s to-do list.
从表面上看，没有什么不值得爱的。然而，挑战依然存在；董事长指出，推广和建立品牌知名度是他公司的首要任务。
But there is much opportunity too. The Sichuan-Tibet Plateau is hardly alone with its extreme climate; Canada, Russia, Finland and other places stand to benefit from the toilets that need neither a sewage system nor septic tanks.
但也有很多机会。川藏高原并不是唯一一个气候极端的地区。加拿大、俄罗斯、芬兰和其他地方将从不需要污水系统和化粪池的厕所中受益。
Back at the dinner table, but away from defecation, it was not long until Xu pointed out to this Scottish correspondent that “Braveheart” is among his favourite films, together with “Zorro” and “Batman”; all movies in which the central character fights the good fight to bring benefit to the masses.
回到餐桌上，还没等排便，没过多久，徐向这位苏格兰记者指出，《勇敢的心》是他最喜欢的电影之一，与《佐罗》和《蝙蝠侠》并列；所有以主角为群众造福的正义斗争的电影。
Xu’s revolutionary restrooms are not just enhancing the image of Chengdu, they are bringing financial savings to local government by also driving job creation; just one public toilet which provides work for eight employees underscoring well China’s commitment to high-quality development.
徐的革命性厕所不仅提升了成都的形象，还通过创造就业机会为当地政府节省了财政开支；一个公厕就能容纳8名员工，充分体现了中国高质量发展的决心。
