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Suzhou Creek

Suzhou Creek (苏州河)
Wusong River (吴淞江)
River
Suzhou Creek from Waibaidu Bridge, Shanghai.jpg
Suzhou Creek from Waibaidu Bridge
Name origin: City at source
Nickname: "Black and stink"
Country China
Province-level divisions Jiangsu, Shanghai
Part of Huangpu River
City Suzhou, Shanghai
Landmark Waibaidu Bridge
Source Lake Tai
 - coordinates 31°5′35″N 120°35′9″E / 31.09306°N 120.58583°E / 31.09306; 120.58583
Mouth Huangpu River
 - location Shanghai
 - coordinates 31°14′41″N 121°29′13″E / 31.24472°N 121.48694°E / 31.24472; 121.48694Coordinates: 31°14′41″N 121°29′13″E / 31.24472°N 121.48694°E / 31.24472; 121.48694
Length 125 km (78 mi)
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 Wusong River, is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighbouring city of Suzhou, Jiangsu, the predominant settlement in this area prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.

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 township became Songjiang Fu in 1278, the river's name was changed to "Wusong River".

The mouth of the river was known in the 4th or 5th century of Jin as 滬瀆 (沪渎, Hù Dú, lit "Harpoon Ditch"), at which time it was the main conduit into the ocean; the contraction 沪 (Hù) is today the official abbreviation for Shanghai.

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 "Mouth of the Wusong" (吳淞口).

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. 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, 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 metres wide on the surface, and half that width at the bottom.


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