Recently, the parent-child shower room of a water park in Yongzhou, Hunan Province was exposed to have installed cameras that were in operation, arousing concerns among netizens. The scenic area has stated that they are currently rectifying the situation.
On June 30, Ms. Yin from Yongzhou, Hunan, told the media that on the afternoon of the 29th, she and her friends took their son to play at the Yongzhou Dinosaur Water Park. Around 2 p.m., they entered the park, followed the staff’s instructions to the parent-child shower room, changed into their swimwear, and began enjoying various water activities.
After playing until around 7 p.m., Ms. Yin finished showering in the parent-child shower room and was preparing to leave when she suddenly noticed a camera on the ceiling.
She immediately found park staff. The staff initially claimed they were unaware of the camera in the shower room and went to check. However, upon seeing the camera, they changed their statement, saying that the camera was malfunctioning.
Ms. Yin demanded verification, saying, “Even if it’s broken, you must show me the monitoring footage. I won’t believe that it’s broken unless there is no footage.” The staff took Ms. Yin to the monitoring room to retrieve the footage from the parent-child shower room.
Ms. Yin said, “I saw that the monitoring was still recording, and at that time, there happened to be a male cleaner inside doing cleaning.” After viewing the footage, she questioned the staff, who explained that the parent-child shower room was only for adults to assist children in changing clothes and that adults should use the adult changing rooms after assisting children.
Ms. Yin pointed out that there were no signs indicating that the parent-child shower room was intended for children’s use only at the entrance and that the showers inside were at an adult height, making it feasible for adults to use them normally.
On that afternoon, Ms. Yin also decided to report the incident to the police, but has not received any feedback from the authorities yet.
On the morning of July 1, Ms. Wang, a staff member at Yongzhou Dinosaur Water World, responded to media inquiries, stating that the parent-child shower room provided by the park is intended for adult women accompanying male children for changing and bathing, and the lack of clear signage was an indication of inadequate information provided by the park.
When asked about the appropriateness of installing cameras in a bathroom, considering both adults and children have privacy rights, Ms. Wang mentioned that following feedback from visitors, the park is undergoing rectification. However, she did not provide specific details on the rectification measures before ending the call.
Staff from Yongzhou Economic Development Group Co., Ltd., the company managing the park, mentioned they are aware of the situation and are in communication with the park’s management to ensure appropriate actions are taken.
Nonetheless, this incident has alarmed netizens.
“Isn’t this a crime?” “This is outrageous. And using high-definition cameras…” “So scary… truly chilling.” “Who knows how many female visitors have been recorded without their consent?” “I hope more attention is brought to this issue so that everyone can see it, otherwise it may not be handled properly.”
Publicly available information indicates that Yongzhou Dinosaur Water World is a tourism project fully invested and constructed by Yongzhou Economic Development Group Co., Ltd., covering an area of 168.8 acres and built according to the national 5A scenic area standards.