Located in the northwest of Shanghai, Putuo District covers an area of 55 square kilometers, ranking the second largest among center urban areas of Shanghai.  Putuo District previously was known for its poor living condition decades ago but recent re-development has made the district a favorable living and working environment.  There has been a huge change in the focus of development strategy of Putuo district, for instance, Taopu Industrial Park, which was one of the leading chemical industry park in early 1990s in Putuo District has shifted the focus to Shanghai Northwest Comprehensive Logistics Park and Shanghai Technology Incubator.  Changzheng Industrial Park was built in 1995 to focus on light manufacturing as well.The boundary of Changning District and Putuo District is very clear - Suzhou Creek.  Putuo District is located at the north side of Suzhou Creek and Changning District.  To fully utilize the natural resources of Suzhou Creek, the Putuo district government has implemented a series of Suzhou Creek re-development plans to further improve the leisure, living and working conditions along the zigzagged Suzhou Creek area.
These plans include:

• Setting up seven museums along Suzhou Creek (themes for the museums include matchbook covers, coins, textile products, relics and ancient arts);
• Maintenance of heritage sites along its 14-kilometer stretch of the creek, including a flour mill and other old buildings. There are at least 28 heritage sites along the downtown stretch of the creek and many have been converted into art studios and galleries;
• Setting up a yacht pier, the first along Suzhou Creek.  Since 1998, the city government has undertaken a decade-long project to clean up the heavily polluted waterway. It also plans to transform Suzhou Creek into a "paddling paradise."

Suzhou Creek.  As Suzhou Creek is zigzagged across the southern part of Putuo District (close to Jing'an district where Nanjing Road West commercial area is – Plaza 66, Shanghai Centre, CITIC Square, Westgate Mall, etc.), many developers have fully utilized the natural resources of the Suzhou Creek to create a friendly living environment.