BEIJING (AFP) - Authorities in China are looking to wipe out dingy public toilets with proposed rules to limit the number of flies and flush away bad smells, Beijing said.

Public toilets in China are generally badly maintained, particularly at public transport locations.

But draft regulations released by the health ministry this week say no more than one fly per sq m will be allowed in toilets within buildings, while in free-standing facilities three flies per sq m are permitted.

The proposed rules also set standards for design, layout and management of public toilets, including classifications for odours.

The new regulations stipulate that if a toilet is used by an equal number of men and women, there should be twice as many stalls for females.

The move comes after a group of 20 women made headlines last year when they marched into a men's public toilet in the southern city of Guangzhou carrying colourful placards calling for equal waiting times for both sexes.

Authorities in Beijing last year unveiled new rules stipulating that the city's public toilets should contain no more than two flies - apparently a more exacting standard than the health ministry regulations released this week.