River of time finds a new rhythm

A city that thrives

Beyond the aroma of coffee, the Huangpu River's deeper, more enduring character lies in the rhythms of everyday life.

Farther upstream along the Xuhui waterfront, an industrial stretch once lined with Longhua Airport, Beipiao Coal Wharf and factories has been transformed. Its cranes and oil tanks have been preserved and integrated into art museums and public spaces.

Along the 8.4-km open waterfront, running, cycling and pedestrian paths wind side by side, interspersed with skate parks, climbing walls and lawns. For many Shanghai residents, there is no need to seek out tourist attractions — an after-work jog or an afternoon picnic with friends on the lawn has become part of everyday life.

This relaxed atmosphere extends to pet owners, too. The area is known as Shanghai's go-to destination for dog walking.

More than 70 percent of tenants at the West Bund Dream Center are pet-friendly. D&L Pets Park features a rooftop playground with river views, while riverside cafes serve special goat milk treats for dogs. Leashed dogs, passersby stopping to pet them, and puppies frolicking on the lawn add a warm, gentle buzz to the waterfront.

Mahmoud Soliman, an Egyptian lecturer at Shanghai International Studies University, has lived in Shanghai for years. Every evening after work, he walks his dog along the river.

For him, the most touching aspect of the waterfront is not the scenery but how it has evolved.

"The city keeps changing to fit the way we live," he says.

"Where industry once rusted, everyday life now flourishes. The best riverside spaces are reserved for everyone who lives earnestly. In the breeze along Xuhui's waterfront lies the small, ordinary happiness."

Building on this foundation of everyday life, major sporting events have also taken root along the river.

In mid-October, the FISE World Series Shanghai returned to the Xuhui waterfront for the third consecutive year. Open to the public free of charge for the first time, the 180,000-square-meter riverside venue drew 400,000 visits over four days, up about 50 percent from a year earlier.

The 2026 Shanghai Marathon scheduled for December is expected to see 30,000 runners set off from the Bund, passing Nanjing Road, Xintiandi and the Huangpu waterfront.

From the Bund's century-old Customs House bell to Lujiazui's skyline and the joggers and dog leashes of the West Bund, both banks of the Huangpu are moving in the same direction — returning the finest waterfront spaces to everyday life and leaving the best of Shanghai to its people.

The river remains the same, but life along its banks grows brighter with each passing day.