Global Times- The fading ‘bucket toilets’ highlights Shanghai’s people-centered governance acumen

Beijing, China, 12/01/2025 / SubmitMyPR /

In the recent past, just behind Shanghai's skyline of soaring towers, one could still turn a corner to stumble upon the aging houses and the sight of elderly residents carrying their chamber pots.

Such scenes have now quietly faded into history.

By the end of September 2025, Shanghai had essentially completed its citywide program to eliminate "bucket toilets." Through this people-centered campaign that spanned more than 30 years, what emerges is not only the warmth of a city built for its residents, but also the governance wisdom of a megacity.

In the 1950s, most residents in Shanghai's central districts relied on chamber pots. By the 1980s, 830,000 households had moved into new homes and bid farewell to the century-old practice. In the 1990s, another 680,000 households benefitted from the program. Since 2000, the city had continued to ramp up its old neighborhood renewal. From 2001 to the end of 2022, roughly 960,000 households saw improvements. After having completed large-scale block-by-block renovations in 2022 and having resolved the concentrated "bucket toilets" issue, the city launched a final push to tackle the last 14,082 scattered locations, The Paper reported.

However, the last batch of the remaining households were scattered across Shanghai's urban areas, residing in cramped, densely populated spaces with vastly varying conditions.

It is amid such practical dilemmas that the precision of Shanghai's urban governance has been fully demonstrated: A tailored policy for each district, a customized plan for each project, and a dedicated file for each household.

How "bucket toilets" used to be a daily reality for millions of Shanghai residents?

On one hand, it was due to the inadequate infrastructure and flawed design of the old urban areas; on the other, it stemmed from the high population density and cramped living spaces at that time, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In the early 1990s, Shanghai's per capita living space was only 6.6 square meters, with hundreds of thousands of households even living in less than 4 square meters. Most of the old Shikumen buildings were not equipped with dedicated toilets when first constructed.

Changle Village, formerly known as "Farden Gardens," is a French-style garden alley residence built in 1925. As an outstanding historical building in a Cultural Conservation Area, it had been home to celebrities such as Feng Zikai, Dong Zhujun, and Mo Feixian - pioneering figures in their respective fields in modern and contemporary eras, and is now a popular citywalk spot for locals and tourists.

However, as time passes, the century-old mansion faced problems such as a shortage of toilet facilities and overcrowded shared kitchens and bathrooms. Residents had to either queue up for public toilets or use "bucket toilets," posing inconvenience and safety risks, particularly for the elderly.

A resident surnamed Chen, who is in her 80s, has lived in the Changle Village for more than 50 years. She told the Global Times that in her original building, more than a dozen people from four households shared a cramped toilet of less than 1.5 square meters. Residents had to queue up for washing and using the toilet.

After a year of renovation, she and her neighbors now have their own private bathrooms with flush toilets, Chen said. Living on the second floor, Chen and her neighbors now each have their own toilets while sharing a shower room, which made her life much safer and comfortable. She said that the shower room was also renovated, where the original bathtub, which was unsafe and unhygienic for shared use, is now replaced with a shower stall.

During the renovation, which lasted for about a year, Chen and her husband temporarily moved to her daughter's house to live. She particularly noted that she did not have to pay for the renovation.

Chen expressed her sincere gratitude to local government for its efforts to improve residents' living conditions.

Huangpu district's Block 13, which rose to overnight fame due to the popular TV series "Blossoms Shanghai," is located on Shanghai's Jinxian Road. This year, all 32 households involved in the Jinxian Road renovation project have moved out of their old alley residences which had no flush toilets.

Liu Ping, the community worker of the residents' committee, told the Global Times that these buildings, constructed decades ago, suffer from poor structure, overcrowding, and inadequate supporting facilities. Residents have long expressed their strong willingness for renovation, but due to the buildings' status as cultural heritage sites, installing flush toilets within them is prohibited.

Since the second half of last year, after two rounds of consultations, all affected households have now relocated, Liu said.

Liu took the Global Times reporter for a walk in a room undergoing renovation.

The room, approximately 6 to 7 square meters, is divided into two floors with an attic upstairs. Liu explained that previously, two households lived in the upper and lower floors respectively, leading to extremely cramped living conditions. The household living upstairs had to carry spittoons down a small wooden ladder to empty them, which was highly inconvenient.

The limited space also made it unsuitable for installing flush toilets. Therefore, the government opted to relocate all affected households with financial compensation, Liu said.

Eighty-five-year-old Shao Ninghua, who used to live in a 9.6-square-meter room in the block for 40 years, told the Global Times that he has moved out and has been promised on a 3-million-yuan compensation from relevant authorities.

"I still intend to buy a house near the block in downtown Shanghai, which is close to hospitals," Shao said, adding that he also prefers old houses over new ones to keep his original lifestyle.

"Urban renewal is never just about houses and people, but about the entire urban system," a grass-roots housing management official revealed a profound governance logic, according to the Xinmin Evening News.

In the renovation of old streets, taking into consideration of the elderly people's emotional attachment to their old homes, government departments did not push forward in a simple and rude way. Instead, they creatively built mini elderly care stations, not only freeing up space for the renovation but also preserving the elderly's nostalgia.

Source: Global Times:
Company: Global Times
Contact Person: Anna Li
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://globaltimes.cn
City: Beijing


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