three wheels. Taiyuan, capital of the northern province of Shanxi, has deployed roving privies mounted on tricycles to service crowded sites such as railway stations and public squares, the Xinhua news agency

said on Tuesday. "The toilets are convenient for pedestrians and the floating population of migrant workers, who have difficulty finding a toilet in large cities," Xinhua quoted Xue Mingyuan, inventor of the pedal-power potties, as saying. Xue`s brainchild was also proving to be more efficient than a previous attempt to provide street-side relief by installing toilets in motor vehicles, the agency said. "Xue, who is a former peasant farmer from Wanrong County, got the idea about the need and designed a toilet loaded on a tricycle to replace the larger ungainly ones," it said. The new water closets cost about 7,000 yuan ($840) to make, compared to 100,000 yuan for traditional fixed restrooms, it said. Xue now runs a company employing laid-off state workers who pedalled the lavatories around town, it said.