This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2014) |
Suzhou Creek Wusong River (吴淞江) | |
---|---|
Etymology | Suzhou and Wusong |
Native name | 苏州河 |
Location | |
Country | China |
Province-level divisions | Jiangsu, Shanghai |
City | Suzhou, Shanghai |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Lake Tai |
• location | Suzhou, Jiangsu |
• coordinates | 31°5′35″N120°35′9″E / 31.09306°N 120.58583°E |
Mouth | Huangpu River |
• location | Shanghai |
• coordinates | 31°14′41″N121°29′13″E / 31.24472°N 121.48694°E |
Length | 125 km (78 mi) |
Basin features | |
River system | Huangpu River |
Suzhou Creek | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 蘇州河 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 苏州河 | ||||||||||||
Postal | Soochow River | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Suzhou River | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Wusong River | |||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 吳淞江 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 吴淞江 | ||||||||||||
Postal | Woosung River | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Wusong River | ||||||||||||
|
Suzhou Creek (or Soochow Creek),also called the Wusong (Woosung) River,is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighboring city of Suzhou (Soochow),Jiangsu,the predominant settlement in this area prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.[ citation needed ]
One of the principal outlets of Lake Tai in Wujiang District of Suzhou,Suzhou Creek is 125 km (78 mi) long,of which 54 km are within the administrative region of Shanghai and 24 km within the city's highly urbanized parts. It flows into the Huangpu River at the northern end of the Bund in Huangpu District.
The river was originally called "Song Jiang" ("Pine River"). When the former Huating Fu (Prefecture) was renamed Songjiang Fu in 1278,the river's name was changed to "Wusong River".
The Wusong River formerly entered the mouth of the Yangtze at the same point where today the Huangpu River enters the Yangtze estuary;this point is even today called the "Wusongkou" or "Mouth of the Wusong" (Chinese :吳淞口; pinyin :Wúsōng kǒu).
The mouth of the river was known in the 4th-5th century CE (Jin dynasty) as 滬瀆 (沪渎,HùDú,lit "Harpoon Ditch"),at which time it was the main conduit into the ocean; [1] the contraction 沪 (Hù) [2] is today the official abbreviation for Shanghai.
The first recorded works on the river was the building of levees along part of the river bank in 810AD. In 1042,the entire course of the river from Lake Tai to the sea was embanked. [3] The river gradually silted up,and a series of works were undertaken in the 11th century to eliminate bends in the course of the river,in an attempt to speed up water flow and prevent further silting. However,silting continued,necessitating constant dredging and the periodic cutting of new channels. In 1109,12 sluice gates were completed in the lower reaches of the river in order to control the effect of silt from the nearby and much larger Yangtze River. These works allowed the river to remain a commercial artery during the Song and Yuan dynasties:even as late as 1277,sea-faring merchant ships could sail up the river to reach the gates of Suzhou. By the early 14th century,however,repeated major dredging works were again necessary to maintain the channel. By the late 14th century,during the early Ming dynasty,the lower reaches of the river had almost entirely become land. A major tributary,the Huangpu River,was similarly affected by silt. In 1403,a major flood affected the area. In response,Xia Yuanji,the Vice Minister of Revenue,devised a plan for major works in what is now the Shanghai area. Water from Lake Tai was partially diverted via the Huangpu,and both the Huangpu and the Wusong were joined to the Fanjiabang canal as their channel to the mouth of the Yangtze and the sea. Further works during the Ming dynasty established the Huangpu as the main conduit,and by 1569,after dredging works directed by Hai Rui, [4] the relative arrangement of the two channels became established:the Wusong River flowed into the Huangpu near today's Waibaidu Bridge,and the combined channel flowed to the Mouth of the Wusong via the Fanjiabang channel. In the region of today's central Shanghai,Wusong River was by 1569 a narrow channel of about 50 meters (160 ft) wide on the surface,and half that width at the bottom.
Suzhou Creek has played an important role for being the demarcation line between political spheres of influences throughout Shanghai's history. After the Treaty of Nanjing forced China to open up in 1842 and Shanghai became an international trade port,the river formed the boundary between the British concession (Southern bank) and the American settlement (Northern bank) until both concessions were merged into the International Settlement in 1863. When the Japanese invaded Shanghai in 1937,the river formed the boundary between the International Settlement (South) and the Japanese concession (North).
The Wusong River acquired its modern name in the mid-19th century:because it connected Shanghai with Suzhou,it was called "Soochow Creek" in English,and the popular Chinese name was a back translation from the English. [5] The first documented mention of "Soochow Creek" occurred in the 1848 version of the Shanghai Land Regulations,the rules which governed the foreign concessions of Shanghai. From there,the name entered popular parlance,and "Suzhou Creek" is now the predominant name used in Shanghai. [6] [7] However,"Wusong Creek" remains in use in some official contexts and is the name used by upstream residents closer to Suzhou. [8]
Due to Shanghai's role as trade port,from the 1930s Suzhou Creek was an important shipping route,facilitating the transport of goods into the interior of China. Along the river banks,a multitude of warehouses and factories were built at this time,making the region close to the river a significant industrial area.
In the course of urbanization,local industries withdrew from the city center,leaving the warehouses and factories abandoned. Up to this point,the river had been heavily polluted by industries as well as domestic waste water,making Suzhou Creek locally known as "the smelly river",the most polluted river in Shanghai since the 1920s.
Since 1992,the Shanghai Municipal Government has been pursuing a redevelopment of the area. In 1998,authorities launched the Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project,a 12-year-program to improve the water quality,mitigate flood impact,introduce wastewater and water resource management and push for urban revitalization and a higher living standard in the desolated areas along Suzhou River. [9] In the meantime,Suzhou River is considered clean enough to host annual rowing competitions. [10]
Originally,most old factories and warehouses along Suzhou River were set be demolished to make way for construction of modern high-rise buildings in Shanghai's fast-developing city center,aiming at a social and economic regeneration of the Suzhou River area. However,following initiatives of artists in the late 1990s,the riverside area has been designated as a protected heritage zone and many warehouses have been conserved,now providing quarters for Shanghai's flourishing art scene.
In 2002,new plans for the redevelopment of the Suzhou Creek's riverfront were approved. These plans,based upon proposals by three international firms,call for the construction of entertainment facilities and 1 square kilometer (250 acres) of parks along the downtown section of Suzhou Creek between Zhongshan Park and its confluence with Huangpu River,aiming to raise the commercial attractiveness of this central part of the river. New structures include shops,bars and a total of 95 greenbelts at the banks of the river,which are supposed to be planted by 2010,the time the Suzhou Creek Rehabilitation Project is completed. While some areas already leased to investors will have to be reclaimed and old residential and industrial facilities are supposed to be replaced,authorities assert that the protection of historical buildings,especially warehouses,will be respected.
From 2007 to 2010,the Bund Tunnel was constructed under the Bund and the mouth of the Suzhou Creek. The construction of the tunnel was designed to relieve the heavy traffic through the Bund area. It rendered obsolete the late 20th century concrete Wusong Road Gate Bridge at the mouth of Suzhou Creek,which had impacted the streetscape and sightlines in the Bund area,allowing it to be removed. [11] The tunnel replaced the road transport function of the bridge (and its water control function was replaced by the new Jinshan Road Gate). The concrete road bridge and flood gate,which was built to the west of Garden Bridge to relieve traffic from the historic bridge,was criticized by some for affecting the historic views between Garden Bridge and landmarks further up Suzhou Creek (such as the General Post Office Building). [12] Wusong Road Gate Bridge was demolished in 2009,prior to the completion of the Bund Tunnel.
Due to its location in the former International Settlement,a number of landmarks from that period can be found along or close to Suzhou Creek. Following the river westward from its confluence,important or famous places include: [13]
In the Suzhou area,where the same river is rather called Wusong River,it passes by Suzhou Industrial Park and Suzhou Dushu Lake Higher Education Town,and connects via Huodi Pond and Dushu Lake to the Grand Canal.
Suzhou Creek is crossed by a number of distinctive bridges,often European in style,the most famous one being Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge) right at its confluence with Huangpu River.
Facilitating north–south traffic in the ever-growing metropolis,a number of new bridges are currently being constructed. Gubei Road bridge,to be opened in late 2006,will be the longest bridge over the waterway. By 2007,there will be thirty bridges spanning Suzhou Creek in Shanghai. In the Suzhou area,another 18 bridges are crossing the river as of 2015.
The Suzhou Creek plays a pivotal role in Lou Ye's film Suzhou River ,which shows the lives of ordinary people living in the old quarters of the northern bank of the river at the turn of the millennium,rather than showcasing modern Shanghai.[ citation needed ]
In the film Empire of the Sun,Suzhou Creek has an internment camp/POW camp near an airfield.
Shanghai is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River,with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the third largest in the world,with 24.89 million inhabitants in 2021,while the urban area is the most populous in China,with 39.3 million residents. As of 2018,the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 9.1 trillion RMB. Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance,business and economics,research,science and technology,manufacturing,transportation,tourism,and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.
Huangpu District,makes up the eastern part of Shanghai's traditional urban core and is today the most central of Shanghai's 16 districts. Huangpu district is the seat of municipal government,includes key attractions such as The Bund and the Old City God Temple,as well as popular shopping districts such as Nanjing Road,Huaihai Road,and Xintiandi. The Huangpu District is one of the most densely populated urban districts in the world.
The Bund is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement,which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River in the eastern part of Huangpu. The area along the river faces the modern skyscrapers of Lujiazui in Pudong. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road,as well as some adjacent areas. This region has a significant European influence,with the style of many structures most comparable to that of European cities,particularly Gothic,Baroque,Neoclassical,Romanesque,Art Deco,and Renaissance architecture. Additionally,some of the city's top eateries are located there. From the 1860s to the 1930s,it was the rich and powerful center of the foreign establishment in Shanghai,operating as a legally protected treaty port.
The Huangpu,formerly romanized as Whangpoo,is a 113 km-long (70 mi) river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River.
Yangpu (杨浦区) is one of the 16 districts of Shanghai. It is located in northeastern part of downtown Shanghai,bordering the Huangpu River on the east and south,Hongkou on the west,and Baoshan on the north. The southern part of Yangpu District is 4 km (2.5 mi) away from The Bund,a major tourist attraction. It is predominantly composed of residential communities,with a total area of 60.61 km2 (23.40 sq mi) and a population of 1,242,548 as of 2020. The district administers 12 subdistricts.
Lujiazui is a locality in Shanghai,a peninsula formed by a bend in the Huangpu River. Since the early 1990s,Lujiazui has been developed specifically as a new financial district of Shanghai. The decision to earmark Lujiazui for this purpose reflects its location:it is located on the east side of the Huangpu River in Pudong,and sits directly across the river from the old financial and business district of the Bund.
The Waibaidu Bridge,called the Garden Bridge in English,is the first all-steel bridge,and the only surviving example of a camelback truss bridge,in China. The present bridge is the fourth Western-designed bridge built at its location since 1856,in the downstream of the estuary of the Suzhou Creek,near its confluence with the Huangpu River,adjacent to the Bund in central Shanghai. It connects the Huangpu and Hongkou districts and was opened on 20 January 1908. With its rich history and unique design the Waibaidu Bridge is one of the symbols of Shanghai. Its modern and industrial image may be regarded as the city's landmark bridge. On 15 February 1994 the Shanghai Municipal Government declared the bridge an example of Heritage Architecture,and one of the outstanding structures in Shanghai. In an ever-changing metropolis,the Waibaidu Bridge still remains a popular attraction,and one of the few constants in the city skyline.
Huangpu Park is the name of the triangular stretch of green at the northern end of the Bund in Shanghai,the oldest and smallest park of the city. It is the site of the large Monument to the People's Heroes,commemorating those who helped to free China from foreign occupation,and of the Bund Historical Museum,which documents the history of the Bund in old photographs.
East Nanjing Road is an interchange station between Lines 2 and 10 on the Shanghai Metro. It is located in Huangpu District,under the intersection of Nanjing Road (E.) and Henan Road (M.) in the city center of Shanghai.
Wusong,formerly romanized as Woosung,is a subdistrict of Baoshan in northern Shanghai. Prior to the city's expansion,it was a separate port town located 14 miles (23 km) down the Huangpu River from Shanghai's urban core.
The geography of Shanghai is characterised by its location on the Yangtze River Delta on China's east coast and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean via the East China Sea. The city is centred on the Huangpu River,a tributary of the Yangtze River,and extends outwards in all directions,with the suburbs and satellite towns reaching east to the East China Sea,north and west to Jiangsu province,and south to Zhejiang province over Hangzhou Bay.
First generation trams in Shanghai began operating in 1908 using a steel wheeled electric system until the last was closed in December 1,1975. The last operating tram line in Shanghai was No. 3,which ran from Hongkou Park to Jiangwan Wujiaochang. It was dismantled in 1975,and replaced by the 93 bus. In the early days of operation,tram cars were partitioned to provide first- and second-class seating. Some trams,principally for the Chinese workers,were designated as third-class.
Shanghai County was a Chinese county in modern-day Shanghai Municipality. Shanghai County was first established in 1292 and finally abolished in 1992. Shanghai County was for most of its existence a part of Songjiang Prefecture,in Jiangsu Province,but later became a county under Shanghai Municipality. Shanghai County was historically the governing authority of the Shanghai's urban area and neighbouring areas. Its extent reduced with the establishment of the Shanghai Special Municipality and,later,Shanghai Municipality. Immediately before abolition,the county extended over a crescent-shaped area adjacent to,and surrounding,the southwest of Shanghai's city centre.
Shanghai–Suzhou–Nantong railway,abbreviated as Husutong railway is a higher-speed railway in China's Yangtze River Delta area,connecting Shanghai,the region's main city located south of the Yangtze,with Nantong in Jiangsu province,north of the river.
The Bund Tunnel is a 3.3 km (2.1 mi) sub-surface road and road tunnel in the city of Shanghai,China. The tunnel connects the districts of Hongkou to the north and Huangpu to the south.
Yan'an Road is a road in Shanghai,a major east–west thoroughfare through the centre of the city. The modern Yan'an Road is in three sections,reflecting three connected streets which existed pre-1945:Avenue Edward VII,Avenue Foch and the Great Western Road. The streets were joined together under a common name by the Republic of China government in 1945,then renamed in the early 1950s after the Chinese Communist Party took over Shanghai. The road is named after Yan'an,the Communist base during the Chinese Civil War.
The Greater Shanghai Plan was a 1927 plan for the city of Shanghai,China,drawn up by the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China in Nanjing. It was presented at the 123rd meeting of the Shanghai City Government in July 1929 and as one of its provisions allocated 7,000 mu in the modern day Jiangwan Subdistrict of Shanghai's Yangpu District for the construction of a government headquarters and administration centre. Had it been completed,the government headquarters building would have stood close to the junction of today's Hengren Road (恒仁路) and the Qingyuan Ring Road (清源环路).
The Shanghai Ferry is a system of ferry routes across the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The ferry service started on January 5,1911 by the municipal authorities in Pudong. Before the 1970s,the ferry service was the only way to cross the Huangpu River. In the 1980s,the Shanghai Ferry became one of the busiest ferry services in the world. In the 1990s,as bridges and tunnels across the Huangpu river were built,the ferry service saw a sharp drop in ridership. The Shanghai Ferry currently consists of 18 ferry lines and is operated by the state-owned Shanghai Ferry Company.
The British Concession or Settlement was a foreign enclave in Shanghai within the Qing Empire which existed from around 1845 until its unification with the American area,located directly north of it across Suzhou Creek to form the Shanghai International Settlement in 1863.
Songpu Bridge,first known as Huangpu River Bridge,Cheting Bridge,is the first bridge built across the Huangpu River in Shanghai,China. It is a double-layer steel truss bridge for highway and railway across the Huangpu River in Songjiang District. The Songpu Bridge Railway Bridge and Highway Bridge were opened to traffic on September 11,1975 and June 29,1976,respectively. For a long time after its completion,it was also the only bridge on the upper reaches of the Huangpu River until the opening of the Huangpu River Bridge on the G15 Shenhai Expressway in 2006.
{{cite web}}
: External link in |work=
(help){{cite web}}
: External link in |work=
(help)