PRESIDENT XI JINPING on Monday called for continued efforts to upgrade the country's toilets as part of an ongoing "toilet revolution" campaign, which was launched two years ago. People's Daily commented on Tuesday:

As an important part of urban and rural civilization, clean toilets have been in short supply in many Chinese communities for years due to historical reasons. And the demand for public conveniences has surged in recent years as China's tourism industry booms, which is why Xi has long stressed the importance of upgrading public toilets to enhance the quality of the tourism industry.

From 2004 to 2013, a total of 8.27 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) was appropriated to build toilets in the poorest parts of the country. As of the end of 2015, around 75 percent of rural homes had flush toilets or dry toilets with underground storage tanks at least two square meters in size with walls and a roof.