Those who crossed the border at Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint in Nanshan District on June 8 might have already noticed something new: the addition of two public toilets.

The new smart toilets at Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint viewed from a distance. File photos

Located to the northeast and northwest of the original toilets, the new facilities are more spacious, intelligent and better equipped. The original facility by the passenger corridor was closed because its location could disrupt traffic and cause congestion during busy hours.

Managed by Huawei’s Harmony operating system, the toilets display the available spots on an LED monitor at the entrance and guide users to the nearest spot. The system also alerts the sanitary worker once it detects an unpleasant odor in the facility. An emergency button alerts the management when someone needs help, and a sensor triggers an alarm within 15 seconds after someone accidentally falls to the floor.

An LED display at the entrance of the toilets.

The toilets are self-flushing, the hand washing area is temperature-controlled, and the signs are in both Chinese and English.

Apart from the regular separate toilets for men and women, at each of the two locations there is an accessible room for the disabled, a nursing room for mothers with babies, and a family room for passengers traveling with a family member of the opposite sex who needs help.

The hand washing area.

Built by the city’s Bureau of Public Works, the two new toilets — occupying 400 square meters and 330 square meters respectively — took only 60 days to design, manufacture, and deliver for use.

More than 85% of the construction, including the main frame, electrical and mechanical pipelines, and the equipment inside the toilets, was prefabricated in a factory, with dimensional errors of the steel frame limited to within 2 mm. It then took only 12 days to fit the structure with all the equipment at the checkpoint, with part of the work done at night to reduce the impact on passengers.

A family room.

During holidays and rush hours, passengers often had to wait in lines to use the toilets at Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint — but that is now history.

“It’s really convenient and nice,” said Ms. Chen after using the new facility.

A nursing room.