The so-called “five-star” public toilet, located in the Dunhuang Night Market area, reportedly cost several million yuan to build and went viral on Chinese social media shortly after opening last year.
During the holiday period, the site attracted large crowds of visitors, many of whom came specifically to take photos and see the unusual location.
From the outside, the building resembles a modern glass office complex. Its interior design is inspired by Dunhuang culture and the Mogao Caves, featuring mural-style artwork, decorative greenery, and fragrance systems. It also includes rest areas, a coffee machine, and luggage storage on the upper floor.
Originally converted from an older structure, the facility now includes accessible toilets, a mother-and-child room, and public relaxation spaces, combining practical function with cultural design.
The site has become so popular that visitors actively share photos and videos online. A humorous trend has even emerged on social media, with tourists posing with rolls of toilet paper in front of the building.
Some visitors admit they specifically included it in their travel itinerary. “I came to Dunhuang mainly for this toilet,” one tourist was quoted as saying in viral social media footage.
In this way, an ordinary piece of infrastructure has unexpectedly become a tourist phenomenon, showing how modern design and social media can create new cultural attractions.
21:20 7 May, 2026