Portable toilets from the past: what life was like in Shanghai before the advent of flushing systems

Before flush toilets became the norm in society, every household in Shanghai had a chamber pot - or Matong in Chinese - that residents used to store human waste.

It is estimated that there were about 3 million chamber pots in Shanghai during the peak from the 1950s to 60s.

During this period, most people in the city resided in tiny 10 - square-meter units within shikumen (stone-framed gatehouses) style buildings, making it almost impossible to store these chamber pots away from sight. As such, residents resorted to hiding them in special boxes.