The public lavatory of Tianjin: A change of urban faeces disposal in the process of modernisation

Abstract

Abstract There is no question that public lavatories are an essential part of a modern city's sanitation facilities and a crucial part of urban faeces disposal. In traditional Chinese thought, faeces are associated with wealth, as they can be used as a natural fertiliser. As such, public lavatories are also considered a useful place to store human excrement for agricultural purposes. During the first half of the twentieth century, the city of Tianjin, China, was experiencing modernisation for the first time: new sanitary control systems were being built, water and sewage systems were gradually improving and modern concepts of sanitation, including public lavatories, assumed an increasingly important role in society. The public lavatory can be viewed as a sign of sanitation concepts and government control, as a place that reflects the technology and ideas of its time and as a crucial link between urban and rural areas within a Chinese city.