The problem was solved in 2009 when Shanghai Metro introduced a system that uses vacuum pumps to transfer waste to the city's sewage network.
The shortage of public toilets in subway stations has long been a subject of complaint. In some cities where China's earliest subway lines were built, before 2000, subways provided no public restrooms.
In Beijing, which has the world's fourth-largest subway network, only nine stations in the east section of Line 1, the oldest line, lack toilets.
After that section went into operation in 2000, the stations without toilets became a source of complaints.
Beijing Subway, the State-owned company in charge of most subway lines' operation in the capital, installed temporary toilets in those nine stations in response.
In 2005, the company was sued for charging commuters to use the temporary toilets and then not providing invoices.
Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court ruled that the company took over the right to operate the subway lines after the stations were built and in consequence was not responsible for providing restrooms, and that it could hardly be faulted for nevertheless paying to install temporary toilets.
Tianjin has the mainland's second-oldest line, built in 1984. All eight of its stations also lack toilets.
New subway networks in Xi'an, Shenyang and Shenzhen all have toilets in stations.
Contact the writers at xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn and zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn
Shi Yingying in Shanghai, Li Xiang in Tianjin, Ma Lie in Xi'an and Liu Ce in Shenyang contributed to this story.
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