One of the principal outlets of Tai Lake, Suzhou Creek has a length of 125 km, of which 54 km are within the administrative region of Shanghai and 24 km within the city's highly urbanized parts. The river flows into the Huangpu River at the northern end of the Bund in Huangpu District. Suzhou Creek has played an important role for being the demarkation line between political spheres of influences throughout Shanghai's history. After the Treaty of Nanjing forced China to open up in 1842 and Shanghai became an international trade port, the river formed the boundary between the British concession (Southern bank) and the American settlement (Northern bank) until both concessions were merged into the International Settlement in 1863. When the Japanese invaded Shanghai in 1937, the river formed the boundary between the International Settlement (South) and the Japanese concession (North). [edit]Trade route Due to Shanghai's role as trade port, from the 1930s Suzhou Creek was an important shipping route, facilitating the transport of goods into the interior of China. Along the river banks, a multitude of warehouses and factories were built at this time, making the region close to the river a significant industrial area. In the course of urbanization, local industries withdrew from the city centre, leaving the warehouses and factories abandoned. Up to this point, the river had been heavily polluted by industries as well as domestic waste water, making Suzhou Creek locally known as "the smelly river", the most polluted river in Shanghai since the 1920s. Redevelopment and future