The Bund　外滩

The Chinese name for the Bund is the Outer Waterfront. It was so named probably because of two reasons. One is that as this area was located outside the old township, it was named Outer Waterfront. The other is that people in Shanghai at that time referred to the upper reaches of a river as li, meaning inner, and the lower reaches as wai, meaning outer; as this part is the lower reaches of the Huangpu River, it is, therefore, the Outer Huangpu Waterfront, often shortened into the Outer Waterfront. The Outer Waterfront nestles against the two mother rivers that have been nurturing Shanghai: One is the Suzhou Creek that flows under the Waibaidu Bridge, and the other is the Huangpu River. The Outer Waterfront happens to be located at the bend of the Huangpu River; therefore, it is in the elegant shape of an arc with a total length of 1,500 m.

In the early years, at the Huangpu Waterfront there were only reeds, some riverside passage, and fields and several villages. The Nanjing Treaty signed between the Qing Government and the British Government in 1842 specified Shanghai as one of the five trading cities; therefore, in the next year, Shanghai was announced to be open to the outside world. Because of its excellent location in terms of transportation and commerce, this part was incorporated three years later into the British Concession, which was the origin of the paradise of adventurers and the ten-li foreign street in Shanghai. By 1937, about 100 years later, 26 superb and elegant buildings, all facing east, had been erected along the river. As most of them were the locations of banks, this part of Shanghai was referred to as the Oriental Wall Street, and because of the different variety of architectural styles, it enjoyed the reputation of the Gallery of World Architectures. And the riverside passage was rendered into Huangpu Waterfront Road, which was renamed Middle Zhongshan No.1 Road in 1945. The present-day Bund, having undergone several renovations, has become the most classical historical landscaping area, and is a must of world fame for tourism.

Asia Building, formerly The McBain Building, which is claimed to be the No.1 building at the Bund and was built in 1916, used to be the headquarters of Asiatic Petroleum Company, which traded the SHELL petroleum products. The external walls are inlaid with plain granite plates, and the main gate is decorated with Baroque spiral patterns and four Ionic columns. This building, which merged with various artistic elements of western architecture and is of eclectic architectural style, has more than 100 windows, displaying a kind of superb elegance. The building at No.6, the Bund, was the Commercial Bank of China, the first official bank financed by the Chinese. Its founder was Sheng Xuanhuai, an important official of the Qing Dynasty and the founder of Jiao Tong University, i.e. the former Nanyang Public School. On top of the steep roof of the building are arrayed five pointed tops, which used to be attached with crosses. And both sides of the roof are decorated with two small pointed towers, which resemble two huge candles worshipping God. The external appearance of this Gothic building, a representative of the Victorian Period with a touch of European religious flavor, does not look very conspicuous, but it is rather rare in public buildings in Shanghai.

The Customs House, 79 meters high, at No.13, the Bund, is No.1 high building as a landscaping mark at the Bund for its combination of classicism and modernity. Right at the main gate are erected four thick stone columns, producing a thrilling sensation on people for their size and sculpture. The clocks on the four sides of the tower at the top of the building were custom-made in Britain at a cost of 2000 taels of silver. It was modeled on the Big Ben in London. With a diameter of 5.4 m, the clock face was made up of 100 pieces of glass, differing in size. The minute hand is 3.17 m long and weighs 60 kg, the hour hand is 2.3 m long and weighs 37.5 kg, and the spring of the clock is 15.6 m long and was made of steel wire that is 0.01 m thick. The largest pendulum weighs 3 tons. When the clock strikes, its resonance lasts 10 seconds, ringing on both banks of the Huangpu River. It is really the largest clock in Asia. The Customs House Building and the HSBC Building, built four years earlier, were designed by the then famous British architecture firm, Palmer & Turner Architects and Surveyors, thus called twin sister buildings. The site of Russo-Chinese Bank at No.15, the Bund, was for rent in 1848, i.e. the 27th year of Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty, when the magistrate of Shanghai issued the first land certificate. At that time, the rent was only 1.5 taels of silver per mu; however, ten years later, the rent went up to 6,000 taels of silver per mu. Built in 1910, this building of classical French architecture famous for its elegance and magnificence was constructed after the model of Petit Trianon in Palace and Park of Versailles. For its gracefulness and splendor, it was said to be comparable to European palaces. It once took the lead in architecture in Shanghai for its internal and external artistic decorations. It was in this building that Italian colorful bricks were laid on the floor of the lobby and white glazed tiles were laid on the surface of the external walls for the first time in China. And it was here that comfortable sanitary facilities and elevators were installed earliest in China. And this was also the first and only bank jointly run by the Qing Government and the Russian and French Governments. While walking along the Bund, you will enjoy a survey of the Baroque sculpture on the porch of Banque de l'Indochine, the carved picture of Confucius' Tour on the lintel of the gate of Bank of China Building, the formal contour of Shanghai Mansion (formerly Broadway Mansion), and the exquisite decorations of Shanghai Club. While you are immersed in the high-class elegance, you cannot help feeling assailed by a sense of nostalgia.

The present site of the Waibaidu Bridge, formerly Garden Bridge of Shanghai, on the Suzhou Creek used to be the dock of ferryboats. In 1856, a British businessman named Charles Wills raised funds for the construction of a wooden bridge here, making it a rule that a fee of five cents was charged on all Chinese pedestrians and twice as much for all vehicles. Seventeen years later, the Municipal Council purchased the Wills' Bridge, dismantled it after another bridge was built a dozen paces away, and allowed everyone to traverse it for free. As the new bridge was beside the Bund Garden, it was called Garden Bridge. And as the traversing of the bridge was free, it was referred to as Waibaidu Bridge, in the meaning of traversing the bridge free. In 1906, when the trendy trams was to go from Yangshupu directly to Nanjing Road, the Waibaidu Bridge was right on the route; therfore, it was dismantled and a new whole steel-structure bridge was erected. On March 5, 1908, when the first tram in China went ding dang across the newly-built Waibaidu Bridge, surges of people came to watch the spectacle. However, the riders on the tram were very few, because it was rumored that the tram had electricity and people were afraid of riding in the tram for fear of being electrified. And it was the front-page news in Shanghai on that day. The 52.16-meter-long Waibaidu Bridge and and the Iron Bridge over the Huanghe River at Lanzhou are the earliest steel or iron bridges in Chinese history. This iron bridge, typical of Shanghai flavor, is a symbol of the scenery at the Bund and a prestigeous signboard of Shanghai.

The Bund Garden, built in 1868, was at first named the Public Garden, or Two-person Garden. Located at the meeting place of the Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek, the garden offers a grand view of the two rivers with surging waves and hundreds of boats and ships sailing by. As it was situated in the British Concession, it was open only to the overseas foreigners whose countries had signed treaties with China. In the regulations of the garden was written: Chinese out of bounds. What's even worse, this regulation and another, i.e. Dogs out of bounds, were written and posted at the gate of the garden. In 1928, the Municipal Council, under the pressure of the Shanghai people's indignant protest and opposition, had to decide to allow the Chinese to pay for entry into the garden starting on June 30 of the same year. After liberation, the garden was rendered into the Huangpu Park, which began to be open to all the people in Shanghai.

At the center of Chen Yi Square erects the bronze statue of Chen Yi, the mayor of this city all Shanghai people strongly love. The first mayor of Shanghai after liberation in Zhongshan suit is standing sideways towards the prosperous Nanjing Road and scrutinizing at the Bund with deep feelings.

The Gutzlaff Signal Tower, or the Weather Signal Station, at the southern end of the Bund, which was completed almost at the same time as the Bund Garden, remains pretty in spite of the 100-year vicissitudes. Of a 50-m-tall cylindrical architecture, it performed a duel function: forecasting weather and telling time. It was a masterpiece designed by a Spanish designer. The external walls were laid with red and gray bricks. The top of the tower, the roof of the two-story house and the interior of the tower were all set up with black iron railings decorated with a variety of leaf-shaped ornaments. It is said to be of unique style of the neo-art movement. The Yan'an Road Square with the tower at the center is encircled with green trees. As part of the world architectures at the Bund, which have been listed as the cultural relics under national protection, the square has become a special space showing the historical changes of the Bund in the past 160 years and the local culture of Shanghai.

The Sightseeing Boulevard, starting from the Huangpu Park along the river, is the most charming section of the riverside area of the Bund, stretching to Shiliupu and making a total length of 1800 m. It is here that the surging Huangpu River joins the Bund and Lujiazui on the opposite side of the river, making up diversified and unparallel scenery in the world. In the Financial Square, at the mouth of Fuzhou Road at the center of the Sightseeing Boulevard, the Financial Bull is a symbol of the booming economy of Shanghai and the golden sign of the Central Business District (CBD) in Shanghai, which is composed of the Bank Street at the Bund and the Financial and Trade Area at Lujiazui.

The term Shiliupu came into being in 1860, i.e. the 10th year of Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty. As it was located beside the Huangpu River, there were many, many docks and wharves; therefore, almost all passenger ships gathered here, making this place famous for its prosperity and bustling in Shanghai. At present, Shiliupu has been transformed into an aquatic center of tourism, and with 12 berths for large cruise ships, turned into a tourist hub on the Huangpu River. The old dock, with a history of several hundred years, has undergone great changes and become a place of fashion that integrates sightseeing, leisure, shopping, entertainment, and food and beverage.

The beautiful Bund is the most brilliant and beautiful mark and symbol of tourism in Shanghai.

Address: East Zhongshan No.1 Road

Accessible to visitors by Bus 20, Bus 22, Bus 37, Bus 55, Bus 65, Bus 42, Bus 126, Bus 123, Bus 135, Bus 145, Bus 401, etc.