Discover Shanghai (Second Edition) Citywalk along Suzhou Creek

Before the skyline, there was a river. Suzhou Creek once powered the rise of modern China’ s industry, with textile mills, warehouses, and docks— engines of trade that shaped Shanghai into a vibrant, cosmopolitan city. Many of these structures remain. Some preserve their historic appearance, offering a window into the past, while others have been adapted to daily life— café s, creative spaces, and riverside parks that reflect the city’ s ongoing renewal. This book guides you through 26 carefully chosen stops along the river. Each one tells a layered story: architectural details, the industrial or cultural past, and the new life it carries today. You won’ t just read about Shanghai— you can walk these streets, linger in the spaces, and experience the city as it is lived every day. Blending hand-drawn illustrations with on-site photography, this guide reveals the city’ s details from street corners to shifting light, inviting you to explore the rhythm of the city.

Jerry Zhu (Zhu Yining) is a Shanghai-based urban historian, author, and curator whose work explores the city’ s layered history through architecture, everyday spaces, and lived experience. He is the founder of SimpliCity, a citywalk initiative that reimagines how people engage with Shanghai— through carefully designed routes that connect heritage, urban transformation, and contemporary life. His work has helped shape a new way of experiencing the city, making its history accessible and relevant to a wider audience. Zhu is the author of The Story of the Left Bank of Suzhou Creek and Rediscover Shanghai: A Haipai Urban Archaeology. With academic experience in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Berkeley, his research and practice bridge scholarship and storytelling, offering a grounded yet vivid perspective on Shanghai’ s past and present.