China tourist site criticized for installing timers at female restroom

The tourist site in Datong city of Shanxi Province, well known for its 252 caves and 51,000 Buddha statues, has been in the limelight after a recent video showed each cubicle in the restroom was equipped with the timers, showing the duration of the time the door had been shut.

If a cubicle is unoccupied, the timer displays the word "empty" in green, CNN reported.

A staff member of the site said the installation of new timers was to "cope with an increase in the number of visitors for its innovative restroom management," state-run newspaper Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.

These timers are not meant to control the duration visitors can use the restrooms, the member added.

However, Chinese netizens have expressed their outrage online.

"A tourist site isn't an office – who would spend their time in the toilets? Is it really necessary?" said a user wrote on Weibo, China's largest social media platform.

"I found it a little bit embarrassing. It looked like I was being monitored," a netizen wrote.

"It's a waste of money and instead they should build more restrooms," another complained.

However, some agreed with the idea of installing the timers to prevent some visitors from occupying the restrooms for too long.

The Yungang Buddhist Grottoes received more than 3 million visitors last year.