Among them, the words of Zhou Gucheng, a professor of Jinan University, are the shortest and most powerful. "My first dream of a future China is that everyone has the opportunity to sit on a close-stool."

In China today, flush toilets have become the basic amenity for most families, and public toilets can be easily found everywhere in most cities. There were only 500 public toilets in Beijing in 1949, whereas in 2018, the number of public toilets in Beijing was 19,008, ranking first in the world among megacities. Within the city's Fourth Ring Road, there are about 20 public toilets per square kilometer, and people can find toilets within 5 minutes of walk. China is now concentrating on cracking this tough problem in its rural regions.