China's urbanization tends to be portrayed in terms of towering skyscrapers and multilane highways, cities that stretch upward and outward. Less consideration is given to the vast but less visible urban infrastructure that shapes and is shaped by citizens' daily lives, such as toilets and sewage systems.
Until the late 2010s, chamber pots remained a common feature of Chinese urban life.family shared wooden structure Mutton bucket or enamel Tanyuu, emptied in a communal dump. The waste thus collected was transported to suburban and rural areas for agricultural use.
In 2015, President Xi Jinping launched a nationwide toilet revolution. By 2020, councils had added an additional 68,000 public toilets. By the end of 2022, 73% of rural residents will reportedly have access to flush toilets.
But as research has long shown, urban development and the access it brings to modern sanitation is unequal. When redevelopment of poor areas is planned, indoor plumbing is often not considered a priority.
Residents of older, poorer urban areas still rely on chamber pots and neighborhood waste collection services. Nor are all new areas connected to municipal sewer networks. Some rely on septic tanks that need to be emptied frequently.
Attitudes are also slowly changing. In new and old neighborhoods alike, local residents often blame immigrants for poor sanitary conditions in public spaces. This can lead to discrimination and even intimidation.
Our recent research investigates how the sanitation environment in the east coast city of Shanghai is shaped by socio-economic inequalities. We discovered that hygiene is not just about cleanliness, but also about power, culture, and social norms.
Daily Hygiene
From 2019 to 2022, our research team visited six diverse districts in central Shanghai and interviewed 54 residents of different genders, ages, and origins. We want to understand how cultural and social norms are integrated into people's daily hygiene practices and the extent to which existing sanitation infrastructure meets their needs. I did. We also wanted to know how both this infrastructure and people's daily lives create and recreate inequalities.
It turns out that hygiene management is not just a biological rhythm, but also related to the rhythm of daily life. Residents who do not have flush toilets at home must schedule trips to public restrooms in between shopping, walks, and exercise.
In other older neighborhoods, instead of public toilets, toilets may be shared by multiple households within a building or in the same lane. Residents should plan their visit to avoid busy times before and after work.
In some older areas or areas slated for redevelopment, people continue to use chamber pots. He empties them at the collection station twice a day, in the morning before work and in the evening before going to bed.
China's rapid urbanization is drawing unprecedented numbers of rural migrants to Shanghai and other cities. The people we spoke to who have lived in older areas for a long time said that people who have migrated from the countryside to the city are often overworked and time-starved, and when it comes to disposing of waste, they don't necessarily have to rely on local resources. He repeatedly stated that he was not following custom.
For example, some people may cover their chamber pots with plastic bags and dispose of the entire contents and bags at a collection station. This often results in blockages and flooding, creating a serious public health hazard. One of the residents, migrant worker Lou*, said: “Urban residents are accusing migrant workers of dirtying public toilets.”
Meanwhile, migrant workers criticize people in older areas who still use chamber pots. In their native villages and towns, this old-fashioned system has long been replaced by private or shared toilets, although it is considered outdated by them.
Sanitation infrastructure in Shanghai, 1995-2019
Public and shared toilets may not have the facilities women need, such as the disposal of menstrual waste. Zhu, a 25-year-old migrant worker, said that during her pregnancy, public toilets were only equipped with urinals and not toilets with toilet seats, which made her feel helpless. . This led her husband to install a private flushing toilet in her rental home.
DIY toilet installations are accepted by local authorities and are common practice. However, these toilets are often connected directly to storm sewers, which can create unpleasant odors, overflow sewage, and even contaminate drinking water.
Connecting to a septic tank also presents other challenges. Yu, a 70-year-old local resident, said there are economic disincentives at play. She said sanitation workers prefer to visit more frequently instead of emptying them completely. Doing so will give you more profit.
In agriculture, the value of human waste has decreased due to the shift to sanitation through water systems, sewage networks, and chemical fertilizers. Sanitation professionals are no longer concerned with maximizing the amount of waste they collect.
Private flush toilets are usually more common in wealthy areas. This created new social norms and hygiene practices. Men and boys are expected to lower the toilet seat after urinating for the convenience of women and girls. Parents can use toilet seat covers to prevent their children from transmitting germs through direct contact with water or flushing droplets.
For Chiu, a 33-year-old man, the birth of his first child changed the way he thinks about hygiene. “Thanks to his wife's careful selection of hygiene products for our baby, we have become more conscious of personal hygiene.”
As a result of this change in attitude, hygiene products such as wipes, tissues, and seat covers are becoming increasingly popular. This has clear implications for increased production and disposal of (solid) waste.
But even in areas where people have access to private toilets, chamber pots have not completely disappeared. Yu said her elderly neighbors still tend to keep the book by their bedside.
This is not only about convenience, but also about nostalgia and cultural heritage. Traditionally, it is also known as the humble chamberpot. Jisung Tong, or descendant vase – an item of value to the Han Chinese, given as a wedding gift by the bride's family. In a rapidly changing world, it continues to resonate in ways that go beyond personal hygiene.
*To protect the anonymity of interviewees, all names in the article have been changed.