Shanghai Medicated Soap 上海药皂
Shanghai Medicated Soap (shanghai yaozao) is a brand of Shanghai Soap Factory Co. The soap was first registered in Shanghai in 1925 as Lihua Hygienic Medicated Soap and took the name Shanghai Medicated Soap in 1959. The bar carries an added fraction of cresylic acid and is described in the archive as China's first antibacterial soap. It is a Shanghai Time-honored Brand, and the archive records it being named a China Time-honored Brand in 2024.
Archive record
China Time-honored Brand Digital Museum, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)
- Founded
- 1959
- Origin
- Shanghai Shanghai, China
- Category
- 美妆日化
- Status
- Shanghai Time-honored Brand
- Designated
- 2023-01-31 Ministry of Commerce
The Archive
The House
The soap was registered on 21 June 1925 as Lihua Hygienic Medicated Soap with the trademark bureau of the Republican-era Ministry of Industry, under registration number
- In June 1952, after the factory was nationalized, production continued, and in 1959
the brand took the name Shanghai Medicated Soap.
The bar's form and making have changed over the years: it was made octagonal and was changed to a rectangular bar in June 1970; in September 1978 cold-plate cooling gave way to vacuum cooling. On 31 October 1979 the trademark was registered with the national administration for industry and commerce, the registration still in use. The archive records that residents nicknamed the soap yaoshui feizao — medicated-water soap.
The brand has been used in public health work. During the SARS outbreak of 2003 it was supplied as epidemic-control material. From 2010 its products were filed in the Ministry of Commerce's emergency commodity database; in 2014 they went to West Africa with the national medical aid team during the Ebola outbreak; and through 2020 the brand supplied products for front-line protection. In 2024 it was named a China Time-honored Brand, and in 2025 it was selected for the Shanghai municipal programme for renewing state-owned time-honored brands.
The line has been widened steadily: a premium fully transparent medicated soap in 2009; in 2014 the registered goods were extended to laundry liquid, medicated soap, and liquid soap; in 2018 the range was reformulated around Chinese herbal extraction; and in 2019 liquid soaps, an 84 disinfectant, disinfectant spray, wipes, and a foaming wash were added. The archive notes that the sulphur liquid soap series has since been optimized for use across different skin types, and that neutral and shampoo bars extend the range. The liquid soap series has completed cosmetic-product filing.
What They Make
The medicated bar — the house's founding product, made with an added fraction of cresylic acid and described in the archive as antibacterial; originally octagonal, made as a rectangular bar since 1970.
Premium transparent medicated soap — introduced in 2009 on a fully transparent base.
Sulphur liquid soap series — a later range extension, with the sulphur technology optimized for different skin types; the archive records the series as having completed cosmetic-product filing.
Other forms — neutral soap, shampoo bar, hand wash, and laundry liquid.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1925 | Registered as Lihua Hygienic Medicated Soap, registration no. 2502 |
| 1959 | The brand is renamed Shanghai Medicated Soap |
| 1979 | The trademark is registered with the national administration for industry and commerce |
| 2009 | A premium transparent medicated soap is introduced |
| 2010 | The products enter the Ministry of Commerce's emergency commodity database |
| 2014 | Products go to West Africa with the national medical aid team during the Ebola outbreak |
| 2023 | Designated a Shanghai Time-honored Brand |
| 2024 | The archive records the brand being named a China Time-honored Brand |
| 2025 | Selected for Shanghai's municipal programme for renewing state-owned time-honored brands |
Source: China Time-honored Brand Digital Museum, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Original record: lzhbwg.mofcom.gov.cn. Translated and condensed from the official Chinese archive; no information has been added. Statements of standing are reproduced as recorded by the source.
Sources
Historical facts on this page are compiled from China Time-honored Brand Digital Museum, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Designation recorded 2023-01-31. This page is editorial content; it is not a product listing and nothing here is an offer for sale.
Independence. Time-Honored Goods is an independent multi-brand store. We are not the official site of Shanghai Medicated Soap, and we do not speak for the house. See Independence & Sourcing.