I'm sitting in the school right now. There is no smell from the toilets in any class room. Sure, the toilet itself does not smell like roses, but this is China. I can honestly say, I cannot smell the toilet from the corridor and certainly not the classrooms.

As for the physical surroundings. It is quite pleasant. I am sitting at my desk and there are nice trees outside the windows. Yes there is pollution in Taiyuan, but it is worse in Beijing. I met a foreign teacher who has lived in Taiyuan for 11 years and he is asthmatic. He had no problems at all with his breathing and enjoyed his stay here.