The Bund
From Free net encyclopedia
- For other uses, see The Bund (disambiguation).
Image:Bund at night (with Bund Financial Center).jpg The Bund (Chinese: 外灘, pinyin Wàitān) is a district in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas.
Contents |
The name
The word "Bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Hindi word band. There are numerous sites in India, China, and Japan which are called "bunds". However, "the Bund" as a proper noun almost invariably refers to this particular stretch of embanked riverfront in Shanghai.
History
The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River (Whangpoo), that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, USA, Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. This was initially a British settlement, later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbourside.
Architecture and buildings
Stretching 1.5 kilometers, The Bund houses 52 buildings of various architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Beaux Arts, and Art Deco (Shanghai has one of the richest collections of Art Deco Architectures in the world).
Some of the most important landmark buildings in The Bund are the Peace Hotel, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building, and the Customs House. The Peace Hotel (formerly Cathay Hotel), with the attached Sassoon Building (which housed offices), was built by Sir Victor Sassoon. It was, and still is today, famous for its jazz band in its cafe. The top floor originally housed Sassoon's private apartment.
The HSBC Building, now used by the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, was once the headquarters of HSBC, which failed to reach a deal with the Shanghai government to buy the building again in the 1990s, when the Shanghai government moved out of the building that they had used since the 1950s. The present building was completed in 1923. At the time, it was called "the most luxurious building between the Suez Canal and the Bering Strait". Its famous ceiling mosaics have been fully restored, and can be viewed inside the entrance hall.
The Customs House was built in 1927 on the site of an earlier, traditional Chinese-style customs house. The clock and bell was built in England and in imitation of Big Ben.
At the northern end of The Bund lies the Monument to the People's Heroes in Shanghai, which is a memorial for the those who died during the revolutionary struggle of Shanghai dating back to the Opium Wars.
Miscellaneous
The Bund is arguably one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. In the interest of historical preservation, building heights are restricted in this area.
The Bund was famously featured in the Steven Spielberg movie Empire of the Sun, the first post WWII American theatrical film made in China.
Some views from the Bund
 The Shanghai Custom House building (center), Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building (left). |
 From left to right: The Peace Hotel, Bank of China building, and former Yokohama Species Bank. |
 The Bund viewed from Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong |
 Entire view of The Bund at night |
 Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and Customs House |
 The Bund at night |
 The green roofed Peace Hotel, formerly known as the Cathay Hotel. |
 The Peace Hotel (green steepled building) |
 The Shanghai Custom House Building, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank during the day. |
 Pudong seen from The Bund. |