Going potty: toilet mania in Hong Kong and the city’s US$3.5 million solid gold ‘throne’ built as a shrine to hero of Russian revolution
- As Hong Kong names its best and worst public conveniences, we reflect on city’s golden toilet bowl built in honour of Russian Bolshevik, Vladimir Lenin
- The solid-gold ‘throne’ was housed in a golden complex built with two tonnes of the precious metal worth a whopping US$38 million
Hong Kong recently unveiled a list of its best – and worst – public toilets, with the Peak Tower, a shopping complex popular with tourists, winning the gold medal.
But the city has another gold standard loo-related achievement, Hong Kong holds the Guinness World Record for the most expensive toilet bowl, a golden creation worth HK$27 million (US$3.5 million).
The solid-gold “throne” formed part of a gaudy jewellery showroom built using two tonnes of the precious metal which carried an overall price tag US$38 million.
Swisshorn Gold Palace, which was also known as The Golden House and the Hall of Gold, was in the city’s Kowloon area and it boasted a floor-to-ceiling gold design, including a gold horse-drawn chariot, gold chandeliers and life-size gold statues. Even the cutlery and crockery was gold.
But behind a door with engraved pharaohs, Greek gods and harp-playing angels, stood the palace’s crown jewel: a fully functional solid gold toilet.