The water shop, an important part of the traditional Chinese urban water supply, played a crucial role in imperial and early modern Tianjin. To most citizens, carrying water on a daily basis was a tough task, which is a significant reason for the emergence of water-selling services. In the early modern period, the traditional water shop developed into a part of the tap-water selling system. The water shop in Tianjin existed until the early 1980s, when every household became connected to the tap-water system.