Yangshupu Waterworks

Yangshupu Waterworks

Yangshupu Waterworks is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The site of Yangshupu Waterworks is located at No. 830 Yangshupu Road, bordering the Huangpu River to the south, covering an area of 129,000 square meters, with a maximum historical extent of 259,000 square meters. The waterworks was designed by British engineer J.W. Hart and built by foreign contractors such as Shanghai’s S.C. Farnham & Co. of Shanghai, with major equipment and pipeline materials imported from Britain. Construction began in June 1881 (the seventh year of the Guangxu reign) and was completed in May 1883 (the ninth year of Guangxu), with formal water supply starting on June 29 of that year (August 1). It had an initial design capacity of 1.5 million gallons (6,818 cubic meters) per day, cost £120,000 to build, and initially occupied 111 acres (73,900 square meters). Its production process involved tidal intake, slow sand filtration, and steam-powered pumping. Major facilities included two sedimentation tanks with a total capacity of 6.13 million gallons (27,900 cubic meters), four slow sand filters, one clear water tank, three steam boilers, and one outlet chamber (with two pumps), plus a 150,000-gallon (682-cubic-meter) water tower built on Hongkou Road. The initial service area included the International Settlement, French Concession, and extra-settlement roads, serving about 170,000 people. In its first year, the total water output was 124.5 million gallons (556,000 cubic meters), averaging 3,698 cubic meters per day.

Starting in the 20th century, additional production facilities were gradually added. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907), a second water tower with a total capacity of 865 cubic meters was built on Xinzha Road. By the 3rd year of Xuantong (1911), the water purification equipment was expanded with additional sedimentation tanks and slow sand filters, and the site grew to 211 acres (140,500 square meters).

In the 10th year of the Republic of China (1921), the number of slow sand filters—the main purification facility—increased to 39, and the following year a reservoir pumping station with a capacity of 47,000 cubic meters was built on Jiaozhou Road. In the 11th year of the Republic (1922), the waterworks imported four rapid sand filter cylinders from the United States for experimental production. The next year, the continuous alum coagulation and sedimentation process proved successful in trials. Subsequently, continuous sedimentation replaced intermittent sedimentation, and American-style rapid sand filters gradually replaced British-style slow ones. After ten years of development, the main purification facilities included seven sedimentation tanks, three sets (24 chambers) of rapid sand filters, 26 slow sand filters, and five clear water tanks. By the late 1930s, daily water supply capacity reached 400,000 cubic meters, and the site expanded to 386 acres (257,000 square meters), making it the largest waterworks in the Far East.

In the 30th year of the Republic (1941), the Pacific War broke out and the waterworks was taken over by the Japanese military, then operated by the puppet Central China Water and Electricity Company. During the occupation, average daily water supply dropped from 244,600 cubic meters before the war to 174,300 cubic meters. After the victory in the War of Resistance, in the 34th year of the Republic (1945), the Shanghai Municipal Government took over the waterworks, which was returned to British management the following May. At the time of liberation (1949), the waterworks had an average daily output of 271,400 cubic meters and a peak of 314,600 cubic meters, with a production capacity of 410,000 cubic meters per day. In the early post-liberation period, the waterworks increased output through efficiency improvements and upgrades. Starting in 1974, the site of the slow sand filters was repurposed to construct inclined plate sedimentation tanks and low-lift dual-valve filters, forming a 150,000-cubic-meter-per-day purification production line. In 1975, a new No. 6 shoreline intake with a daily intake capacity of 1 million cubic meters was built. From November 1986, the site of the eastern slow sand filters was used to construct a 100,000-cubic-meter-per-day low-lift filter production line, completed in December 1988. The original steam boilers and pumps were phased out by 1984, and parts of the former slow filter area in the northern section of the plant were repurposed for other facilities and staff housing, reducing the overall footprint. In 1987, with the completion of Phase I of the Upper Huangpu River Water Diversion Project, the waterworks began using upstream raw water.

Entering the 1990s, the waterworks underwent institutional and operational reforms, establishing pumping and purification workshops, as well as repair shops, installation departments, and service operations. In November 1994, ¥48 million was invested to upgrade Filter No. 129, increasing daily capacity by 50,000 cubic meters. By 1995, the waterworks had four intakes, 20 intake pumps, eight sedimentation tanks, 16 secondary pumps, three sets (26 chambers) of conventional rapid filters, 28 low-lift rapid filters, seven clear water tanks (20,000 cubic meters), 23 outlet pumps, and 14 outlet pipes (with a maximum diameter of 2 meters). That year, average daily supply reached 1.244 million cubic meters, peaking at 1.53 million cubic meters. The production facilities and office buildings of Yangshupu Waterworks retained their British castle-like exteriors and classical British architectural style, making it one of Shanghai’s scenic sites.

In May 2013, the State Council (State Council Document [2013] No. 13) designated Yangshupu Waterworks as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units