It's a wrap for Suzhou Creek waterfront redevelopment
People walk along the Suzhou Creek waterfront near Suzhou Road N. in Hongkou District. The restoration of the creek's waterfront is now complete.
The redevelopment of Suzhou Creek's waterfront is complete, providing new public leisure spaces for people to enjoy, city officials announced today.
Stretching from the west Outer Ring to the Bund, the creek is the Huangpu River's largest tributary.
The waterfront is designed to be a “backyard garden” for locals, according to the city’s overarching development plan.
The 42-kilometer project focused primarily on enhancing the creek's waterfront in six districts — Huangpu, Hongkou, Jing’an, Putuo, Changning and Jiading.
Over the years, the riverside was carved up to accommodate new residential areas and businesses.
More than 15 kilometers of the riverside that was previously private is now open to the public.
“Forty percent of the riverside used to be occupied by residential complexes,” said Zhu Jianhao, deputy director of the city’s housing and construction management commission and manager of the development project. “We had to communicate with residence commissions and representatives and come up with a win-win plan.”
Several remaining hurdles include two transportation projects underway on Changshou Road Bridge in Putuo and Wuzhen Road bridge in Huangpu, as well as three neighborhoods still in negotiations.
Buildings, greenbelts, bridges, flood-control walls, pier facilities and overhead cables along the creek were renovated by several different entities, including the greenery bureau, housing and development commission, transportation commission and water bureau.
Each district strived to create iconic cultural landmarks, such as Jiuzi Park in Huangpu, historical buildings in Hongkou and the “Eye of the Creek,” Changping Road Bridge in Jing’an.
The creek was plagued by industrial pollution in the past but has undergone cleanup management over the years, gradually improving its water quality.
According to Zhu, the overall water environment and surrounding facilities will be maintained and improved in the future. Ferry services on the creek will also be introduced.
