When Chinese swimmer Ning Zetao was awarded a gold medal earlier this month for the men's 100m freestyle swim during the 16th FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Championships in Russia, our whole nation was elated. Though it was not the first time a Chinese swimmer had won a gold - Ye Shiwen broke world records during the 2012 London Summer Olympics - it helped to further dispel the myth that Chinese are lousy swimmers.

In fact, swimming is a favorite summer pastime among Chinese. The Qingdao coastline in Shandong Province is famous for its throngs of tube-floating tourists, and even in urban metropolises like Shanghai, public swimming pools are the number-one hot spot on hot August days.

There are 698 swimming pools in Shanghai, 98 of which are public. This past July saw 3.17 million people flock to the city's numerous swimming pools for relief from thermometer-bursting temperatures. "Boiling dumplings" is the popular expression used to describe Chinese public pool swimmers in the summer because the crowded pools offer so little room that most people wind up simply standing in one spot.

Due to this overcrowding, however, swimming pools in China have also developed a notorious reputation as "Petri dishes" for their off-the-chart volumes of bacteria and microbiology growing in the water.

The Shanghai Health Inspection and Supervision Institute, a division of the municipal health bureau, recently conducted a citywide inspection of 478 registered swimming pools with the purpose of improving the enforcement of health standards. Among those pools inspected, 14 failed to pass basic water quality tests, 17 were penalized due to defective facilities and seven were shut down for dangerously high levels of urea, or micro-organisms.

Every summer throughout China, national and local media report on complaints from citizens in various provinces whom have contracted skin rashes or eye infections after swimming in public pools. After numerous investigations and scientific studies as to why Chinese public pools tend to be so disease-ridden, the results were startling simple: pee!

With millions of children and adults crowded together in a single contained space of warm water, the sheer amount of urine as well as phlegm, sweat, mucus, hair, secretions and fecal matter result in a dangerously high percentage of unhygienic water. And with public pool managements often failing to adequately sanitize their pools and perform routine cleanings, or pouring in too many chemicals, it shouldn't surprise anyone that just dipping your toes into a public pool in China could be toxic.

Peeing in the pool of course can't always be helped, and most everyone has been guilty of it. A survey of 945 swimmers carried out in Wuhan, Hubei Province, revealed that 45 percent people admitted to taking a wee in a pool, and according to the Daily Post in England, 46 percent of Britons also confessed to this uncivilized behaviour. Even American Olympians Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte say they do it.

How about Shanghai's expats, then? What do they think of public swimming pools here? Are there any differences between pools in their country and in China? The Global Times put on an inner-tube and waded in to find out.

Anaud, yoga teacher, Thailand

I have been to the public swimming pool here only once. It's crowded. A lot people spit in the pool. The locals have a habit of spitting or cleaning their noses in the pool, assuming it goes away. But all that yellow stuff they get out of their noses is going back to the pool. I haven't seen such rude things in my country, so I didn't stay there for long. That's why I prefer a private swimming pool.

Denis, manager, Germany

Denis, manager, Germany

I am afraid of these pools. Chinese don't have the awareness for the maintenance, or maybe they use more chemicals than allowed. I need to see the staff taking their job seriously. The daily ticket price at a public pool is 35 RMB ($5.46), but I guess for this price you can't get clean water. Swimming pools in Germany have good water quality. Everything has to be recorded and the water quality gets controlled by government too. Nobody wants to swim in a spitting pool.

Keddy, unemployed, the US

Keddy, unemployed, the US

Every week I go swimming here. Some swimming pools only have one lane line. There's supposed to be three. Without those lines, it is hard.

A friend of mine once complained about her experience in a Chinese swimming club. She said there were 20 people in one lane. So they have to swim in a circle, which Chinese call circle-swimming. She said that she always touched the feet of the people in front of her.

Alex, manager, Poland

Alex, manager, Poland

I have a membership card for a private swimming pool and gym. I go there three or four times a week.

The water and the whole property are very clean. But one thing I don't like is that some of the Chinese men are swimming around the pool (in a circle), not straight in the lanes as we are supposed to swim, so sometimes they interrupt and infringe your lines.

Corynn, school teacher, the US

Corynn, school teacher, the US

I've only been to outdoor pools here. I don't like indoor pools (because of the swimming cap rule). I don't like swimming caps because it's uncomfortable.

In my own country, every neighbor has a pool at their home. Almost everybody can swim. Most pools are outside there, and you can wear your hair any way you want.

Aslan, executive director, Germany

Aslan, executive director, Germany

I've only been to two pools in Shanghai, including my current gym at the Kerry Centre. I wouldn't be able to relax at an unhygienic place. I believe they charge too much (30,000 RMB per year) but the positive outcome is that I'm basically alone in the pool whenever I go. I'm not going to swim in public pools in any country of the world. It's not just a China issue.

I don't know if it's manageable to make a health check before going to the pool. In the US they have chemicals in the pool which makes the water turn red if you urinate. I think most Chinese pools would be constantly pink.

Global Times - Wang Beibei and Liu Huaiyu contributed to this story