Boasting 51,000 statues carved into 252 caves some 1,500 years ago, China's Yungang is certainly a spectacular tourist destination.

However, in recent days, the toilets at this UNESCO World Heritage Site have attracted more attention than the scenic beauty.

A video shared on Chinese news sites and social media shows multiple timers installed above each women's restroom. When the room is empty, the LED screen displays the word "empty" in green. If used, it displays the number of minutes and seconds the door has been locked.

The original video was said to have been filmed by a tourist and posted on the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald , a local newspaper.

The video has caused controversy in China. "I think it's quite technologically advanced, so you don't have to queue outside or knock on the toilet door. But I also feel a little embarrassed because I feel like I'm being watched," one tourist commented.

Staff at the tourist attraction said the clocks were installed to accommodate the growing number of visitors. "There's no way we can kick someone out of the restroom mid-way through. And we don't set a time limit like 5 or 10 minutes for how long a person can use the restroom," the staff said.

The timers were installed on May 1 this year and are primarily a safety measure to ensure the health of all guests, warn some guests who use the restroom for long periods of time, and provide "emergency" assistance to other guests.

Many netizens on Weibo supported the timers, saying they would discourage tourists from sitting for long periods of time and scrolling through their phones while in the restroom. "A tourist destination is not a company office, who would spend time in the restroom?" one person said.

“Why don’t they spend money on building more toilets?” another replied.

Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, the Yungang Grottoes are one of the biggest tourist attractions in Shanxi province, northern China.

The scenic area welcomed 3 million visitors in 2023, a record high for the tourist site and a significant increase from 2019 (1.98 million visits).