Beijing embarks on massive toilet fixup

BEIJING, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- In the run-up to hosting the 2008 Olympics, Beijing officials say it's 5,580 public toilets down, and 1,000 to go in its modernization campaign.

Since March 2005, city workers have been laboring at ensuring public facilities have flushable toilets, ventilation and are clean. Their goal is to ensure there is a public toilet available within a five-minute walk anywhere in the city, and so far, about 1,000 in suburban areas aren't up to par, the China's Xinhua news service reported.

To help cope with the Olympics crush, city officials will also ask that some 3,000 commercial buildings open their washrooms to the public, the report said.

City health officials have also mounted a campaign asking residents to stop the common practice of spitting and nose-clearing on sidewalks.