Suzhou Creek & the Garden Bridge

The creek joins the Huangpu at the north end of the Bund, and the steel Garden Bridge — Waibaidu — has crossed it since 1907. It was the first steel bridge in China, it is riveted rather than welded, and it is still carrying traffic.

Behind it stand the Broadway Mansions and the former Russian consulate, and upstream the creek runs past converted warehouses that are now galleries. It is the Bund’s quieter and much less visited side.

What it costs

⭐ Free. Bridge, banks and creekside walkways, all open.

When to go

Any time. The walkway along the creek is continuous for several kilometres upstream and is genuinely pleasant in the evening.

Getting there

Tiantong Road on lines 10 and 12, or walk north along the Bund until it runs out — the bridge is at the end.

If you only have an hour

Cross the bridge on foot, both ways, and look at the ironwork. Then north to the Broadway Mansions and the terrace behind it for the view back down the Bund, which is the classic photograph of both waterfronts at once and is free.

Then upstream along the creek walkway as far as you feel like — the further you go the more ordinary and the more interesting it becomes.

What people get wrong

Stopping at the Bund’s north end and turning back. The bridge is two minutes further.