Suzhou Creek excursions mark China Tourism Day

A map shows landmarks along the Putuo section of Suzhou Creek, the longest in downtown.

Six new tourist routes along Suzhou Creek were released on Wednesday to mark China Tourism Day, allowing visitors to explore the riverside’s revolutionary and industrial heritage.

Around 30 tourist attractions, architectural relics and cultural facilities are included in the new routes in the Putuo district, which has the longest section of the creek in the city center at 21 kilometers.

The routes are thematically oriented towards labor movements in Huxi or west Shanghai, the various bridges that span the stream, traditional river districts, and museums and art galleries along the stream.

About 100 residents of Changshou Road Subdistrict experienced one of the routes. Brave the rain to visit Baocheng Bridges, Xikang Road, Jiangning Road, and Changhua Road.

Putuo has created a continuous path along its section of the creek by demolishing obstacles at 19 locations, according to the district government. Downtown Putuo is once home to China’s earliest industries.

For example, the waterfront area known as Baocheng Bay, where the new routes were published, is home to a fifth of China’s earliest textile mills from the 1920s. After 1949, Shanghai’s cotton mills No. 1, 6, and 7 were located on the waterfront, as well as a military warehouse for quilts and uniforms. The website has been dubbed “the cradle of the Chinese textile industry”.

It’s thumbs up for a new tour route along Suzhou Creek.

A group poses for a photo after finishing the tour along Suzhou Creek.

Renovations have replaced a muddy path with cement, while illegal structures have been demolished to make way for pocket parks.

Several industrial buildings have been preserved, including a warehouse and pump house at 652 Changshou Road, built in 1922 by the Japanese domestic and foreign cotton trading company and later owned by Shanghai Textile Holding Co.

The district’s culture and tourism bureau aims to brand the Suzhou Creek Waterfront to support the city government’s drive to become a world-famous tourist destination.

Several itineraries have been developed to help local residents and tourists explore the history and culture along the creek.

One of the routes through China’s early national industries is considered to be the “most popular micro-tourism route” by the people of Shanghai.

The annual Suzhou Creek Culture and Arts Festival has been named one of the city’s “Most Popular Urban Events”.

A number of riverside attractions have become popular with tourists, including the X-Tower Innovation Park, Taopu Central Greenbelt, the Caoyang Community History Museum, and the Gaoling Market in Zhenru City。

About 100 people braved the rain to take the Suzhou Creek Tour on Wednesday.