What the World's Most Beautiful Public Restroom Looks Like (7 Photos)

People love surrounding themselves with beautiful objects and refined interiors. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to. But when money is no object, creative design knows no bounds. With enough vision and investment, even a public restroom can be transformed into a space you will never want to leave. That is certainly the case for a lavatory inside a shopping mall in Nanjing, China.





Located on the 6th floor of Nanjing's Deji Plaza shopping center, this public restroom has been officially recognized as the most aesthetically pleasing in the world. Anyone stumbling into it by accident would sooner mistake it for the high-end headquarters of a multinational corporation, a contemporary design museum, or the residence of an eccentric billionaire.



Visitors are welcomed by a grand corridor lined with live greenery, carefully integrated into wall niches and set on wide pedestals.





Underfoot, guests step onto mirror-polished stone floors featuring abstract geometric patterns, while overhead hang massive futuristic chandeliers and dozens of custom light fixtures.



At the end of the long hallway—conceived as an "immersive garden"—lies a lounge anchored by a custom couch shaped like a blooming flower. It serves as a comfortable waiting room for visitors waiting for friends or family.



Just outside the entrances to the men’s and women’s facilities are fountain-inspired washbasins. Set at varying heights, they are designed to accommodate both adults and children.



How the Stunning Concept Came to Life

This spectacular restroom was designed by the Shanghai-based architecture firm X+Living. Chief designer Li Xiang shared the core vision behind the project:

"A shopping mall restroom is a public space open to everyone. It accommodates people amidst their busy urban lives, offering them a sanctuary to relax. During the design process, I didn't want to create a purely functional room. Instead, we decided to emphasize the restroom's design to convey humanistic care in an unexpected corner of the mall. That’s how we developed the 'Sanctuary Garden' concept."



This extraordinary facility defies any single architectural style. It is an artistic experiment created to surprise visitors and reshape how people perceive such a utilitarian space. And the team behind it succeeded completely. You could travel the globe, but you won't find a public restroom more elegant or comfortable than this one.

While the world's most beautiful restroom is in China, the most bizarre ones are waiting to be discovered in Japan.