The stage four of the Suzhou Creek rehabilitation project started in full swing, Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang announced on December 30. As a major environmental protection and investment project in the city, it marks a new stage in city’s comprehensive treatment of its mother river Suzhou Creek. The rehabilitation project is aimed to improve the water quality of the creek and its flood prevention performance. It will also make the waterfront of the creek a more eco-friendly and user-friendly space. Suzhou Creek covers an area of 855 square kilometres and flows through 12 districts as well as 2,012 branch waterways across the city. The city has carried out three stages of rehabilitation projects to treat the water of the creek since 1990s.