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Sanitation is generally poor in the rural areas of China, leading to serious pollution and posing a health hazard to inhabitants. To achieve a level of sanitation that is effective and appropriate, respondents are urged to participate in funding the solution. This study is intended to determine the factors that can affect residents’ willingness to pay for upgrading the sanitation facilities in their villages and the main reasons behind their choices. Data were collected in Shaanxi from November 2016 to August 2017. A total of 353 respondents were chosen at random. The results show that sanitation education, water pollution, and dissatisfaction with the current state of sanitation, could increase respondents’ willingness to invest in sanitation facilities. Moreover, respondents who organized village activities were more likely to contribute. Females who suffered from health hazards also revealed a positive attitude towards investing in sanitation. Furthermore, results indicated that the government should note the importance of awareness, of dispensing relevant information and the exemplary role played by respondents who organize communal activities in villages.

Unsanitary toilets are recognized worldwide as a threat to ground water and public health. In this research, we investigated villagers’ willingness to pay to upgrade toilets in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. The study was based on data from 558 questionnaires collected in December 2017 and January 2018. The villages and villagers were randomly chosen. We observed that 42% of the respondents were willing to pay to upgrade toilets, and the key factors that affected willingness were dissemination, concern, gender, living time, and satisfaction. In addition, villagers who lived with children were more sensitive to pollution, especially water pollution. These findings could help the Chinese government’s toilet revolution mission succeed by identifying and targeting villagers with high willingness.