01
The creek mouth
Start where the creek meets the Huangpu, beside Waibaidu Bridge. The two rivers, the two eras.
Look back at the Pudong skyline from here before you turn inland — it is the last good view of it on this route.
10 min
Industrial & art · Putuo / Jing'an
Suzhou Creek to M50
Follow the creek west through warehouses, a 1930s post office and a battle-scarred warehouse, ending in the city's best cluster of galleries.
For most of the 20th century Suzhou Creek was an industrial sewer with warehouses on both banks. In the last decade the banks have been turned into a continuous public walkway, and the warehouses into galleries. This route follows the water west and ends in the middle of that transformation.
It is flat, mostly car-free, and almost entirely free. It is also the walk that best explains what Shanghai has done with its industrial inheritance.
The route
7 points · schematic, not to scale
02
Riverside terraces
A long stretch of rebuilt residential and commercial terraces facing the water. Good early-morning tai chi watching.
There are public toilets and water fountains along this stretch, spaced roughly every kilometre.
25 min
03
Postal Museum
A 1920s stone post office with a museum inside and a preserved courtyard atrium.
Small admission fee, closes one day a week. The atrium alone is worth the detour.
30 min
04
Sihang Warehouse
The 1937 defence site, pockmarked facade left unrestored on purpose. Free to view from outside.
The west wall is the one they left as it was. Stand back across the creek to see the full elevation.
25 min
05
M50
Finish at Moganshan Road 50: fifty-plus galleries and studios in former cotton mills.
Free to wander. Galleries open late morning and many shut on Mondays. The lane directly north of M50 is a mile of street art worth adding on.
50 min
Getting there and back
Start at Tiantong Road (Line 10 / 12), Exit 3. Finish: M50, then Jiangning Road station (Line 13) or a short taxi.
Keep walking
Nearby routes
01
Hongkou: Shanghai's Jewish Quarter
A neighbourhood that took in 20,000 refugees in the late 1930s, still standing, still lived in, and almost entirely missing from most itineraries.
Under-visited→
02
The Bund at Dusk
One and a half hours, timed to the light: bridges, the promenade, the clock, then two yuan for the ferry back across the river.
Best first evening→
03
Jing'an Temple & the Backstreets
A gilded temple inside a glass-and-steel district, then ten minutes into lanes where the 1930s are still doing business.
Contrast→
3
Guides who walk this route
Every route on this site can be walked on your own. If you would rather have someone explain it, these are the listed guides who cover this one.
The Bund & Huangpu — the history line
English · Mandarin
On request
Hongkou: Jewish Shanghai & lilong life
English · Mandarin · German
On request
Jing’an: the temple and the lanes behind it
English · Mandarin · Japanese
On request
FAQ
Questions about Suzhou Creek to M50
Everything on this site is written and re-checked on the ground. When something changes, this page changes.
Is the Suzhou Creek walk continuous?
Largely yes — the riverside path has been joined up along most of the central stretch. A few sections still detour onto the road; follow the water and you will not get lost.
Is M50 free to enter?
Yes. Individual galleries are free; you pay only if you buy something. Many close on Mondays.
How far is it from the Bund?
Roughly 45 minutes on foot from Waibaidu Bridge to M50, plus gallery time. Budget two and a half hours in total.
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