More residents bid farewell to chamber pots
A cyclist in the Dongjiadu area of Huangpu District
The latest battle to get rid of chamber pots has begun in Huangpu District with 12,000 residents scheduled to be relocated this year.
Huangpu has the largest amount of lane-style neighborhoods awaiting modernisation, some 2 million square meters with shared bathrooms and kitchens. About 65,000 households in the downtown district are still using chamber pots.
The district government had planned to relocate or renovate 8,000 households each year until 2025. But this year’s task was accomplished by June so the target was increased to 12,000, said Chao Kejian, director of Huangpu.
The campaign started at Qiaojia Road. Over 90 percent of the 5,800 families living in the area have agreed to be relocated, moving to new homes with better facilities.
Qiaojia Road is a small street in the city’s old town, once the center of Shanghai, that covers 2 square kilometers. The road stretches for less than one kilometer. It was where Xu Guangqi (1562-1633), a scholar-bureaucrat of the Ming Dynasty, was born. His former residence is still in existence.
Painter Wang Yiting’s former residence is also on Qiaojia Road. In 1922, Wang welcomed Albert Einstein and his wife to the house.
A downtown old residential complex in Huangpu District
The condition of the historic buildings in the area has worsened and buildings that once housed only one family are now stuffed with five or six, sometimes more.
“I’m happy to get rid of chamber pots, but I’ll miss the convenient central location,” said resident Qiu Xianjun, 40.
The next step will include Danshui, Jianguo, Jinling and Xinchang roads.
Until 2025, when work will be complete, the focus will be on three areas — the old town area near Yuyuan Garden, the residential area around Xintiandi and the riverside along Suzhou Creek on Beijing Road E., said Hong Jiliang, deputy director of Huangpu.
The city plans to retain about 90 percent of downtown lane houses. Citywide, there are 8.1 square kilometers of residential space that is more than 50 years old and over 7.3 square kilometers will be preserved. Nearly one-fourth of these buildings are in Huangpu District.
A resident holds a chamber pot at Qiaojia Road area in Huangpu District.
