According to International Herald Tribune, the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment has passed a by-law that limits the number of flies in a public bathroom to two.

The new regulations also state that a public toilet may contain only two discarded items at a time, and that neither may remain for longer than half an hour. The regulations also get tough on smells, laying down standards for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, two sewer gases.

But it's the fly issue that has captured the imaginations of many Beijingers and others around China who have been posting online, in some cases from a fly's point of view.

On Sina's Weibo, or microblog, site, a person with the handle Wo bu shi luobo described this imaginary scene at a public toilet: "Management guy sees two flies flying in, hangs a very small sign on the door of the toilet: ‘Occupied.'"

Alluding to the regulations' stated goal of providing cleaner toilets as evidence of a "civilized" capital, Wang dao you xing wrote, wryly: "How do you judge how cultured a city is? Just count the flies in a public toilet."