Chongqing Foreigner Street

　　A few days ago, I went for a stroll around Foreigner Street in Nan’an with my parents and was left with quite a few thoughts. Foreigner Street is located by the river near Danzishi in Nan’an. It’s a park with a theme park-like vibe and is still under construction while also being open to visitors. The most famous attraction there is their Guinness World Record–holding largest public toilet. The toilet is built on a small hill in the center of the park, featuring a unique and rather spectacular design. All of this piqued my interest, so when I got home, I looked it up online. To my surprise, Foreigner Street — including that giant toilet — has sparked quite a bit of controversy. Here, I’d also like to share my own thoughts about Foreigner Street, though everything I say is based purely on my personal observations and assumptions, with no official sources to back them up.

　　Foreigner Street is built on a piece of vacant land by the Yangtze River near Danzishi in Nan’an. Its location is rather remote. Not far from Foreigner Street is a real estate development by the same developer. It’s quite obvious that the developer’s aim in building Foreigner Street is to attract crowds and boost the value of the surrounding land. As a park, Foreigner Street doesn’t charge an entrance fee, and the commercial spaces available for rent come with “three years of free rent, just a security deposit required.” Based on this model, the only way they can turn a profit is by drawing in more and more visitors to drive up the land and property prices nearby. Plus, the “world’s largest toilet” draws global attention, attracting streams of locals to visit every day, and even the bus line running from Jiefangbei to Foreigner Street is making a tidy profit.

　　Now, let’s talk about the park itself. Upon first arriving at Foreigner Street, you’ll see a plethora of signs covered in internet slang. It’s clear that the team behind the project is likely made up mostly of young people or recent graduates, giving off a very free-spirited, college-student vibe — along with all the immaturity that comes with youth. The park blends Eastern culture, Western culture, and even parody culture. The architecture isn’t particularly refined, but everywhere you look, there’s a relaxed, easygoing atmosphere. It feels like the designers had big ambitions but were held back by a tight budget. Visitors come here mainly to gawk — the Chongqing expression “watching foreign acrobatics” fits this place perfectly. If you don’t buy food or go on any rides, you can pretty much enjoy the place without spending a penny. My mom and I bought a grilled corn cob for 4 yuan, and I almost couldn’t finish it. For the average Chongqing resident, whose income isn’t very high, it’s definitely a great deal. People can come here to relax and have fun without any pressure. That’s the real social significance of Foreigner Street today.

　　So, has Foreigner Street done everything right? Anyone who’s been there will tell you that it’s pretty dirty — the ground is littered with used plastic bowls, disposable chopsticks, napkins, fruit peels, and then there’s the ongoing construction adding piles of dirt all around. This easily brings to mind questions about the civic awareness of the general public, but I’d argue that it mostly reflects serious shortcomings in the management of Foreigner Street. As a service-oriented facility, there are many ways the management could improve cleanliness: hire more cleaning staff, properly guide visitors to behave civilly in the park. The key issue is how much importance the management places on having a clean environment and how much they’re willing to invest to achieve it. Since the surrounding entertainment facilities are still under construction, if these environmental issues aren’t addressed soon, cleanliness will become a major problem hindering Foreigner Street’s future development.

　　Finally, let’s talk about the “world’s largest toilet.” I find it quite interesting. It’s located right in the center of the park, ensuring that anyone in urgent need can get there as quickly as possible. There are plenty of stalls, so you’ll never face the embarrassment of arriving only to find them all occupied. On top of that, the various decorations inside offer a glimpse into toilet cultures from around the world. All of this makes perfect sense and is actually quite fun. Some have criticized the decorations as vulgar, and a few have even gone so far as to say it goes against the principles of spiritual civilization and damages the image of a municipality directly under the central government. I think that’s an overreaction. Many of the decorations inside aren’t original to Foreigner Street — a lot of them are inspired by creative designs found in bar restrooms abroad, easily found online. Gathering these ideas in the “world’s largest toilet” is simply a way to showcase global toilet culture. Many people are shocked, feel ashamed, or think it’s embarrassing — I think that’s just because they haven’t seen much of the world and are easily surprised. As for the image of a municipality, if Chongqing residents can’t even tolerate a toilet, then there’s no point in talking about the city’s image at all. Whether the “world’s largest toilet” is truly meant to be a comprehensive “toilet museum” or just a gimmick to attract attention, time will tell.