The Bund
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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 Persian word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms, bind and band, German term, bund, etc.). The term was brought to India (where it came to be pronounced as "bund") by either the Mughals in at the beginning of the 16th century, or possibly, by the Baghdadi Jews like the family of David Sassoon, and thence to Shanghai by the family of Victor Sassoon. There are many "bands" to be found in Baghdad, even at present. 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, 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). From the south, the main buildings are:
- Asia Building (No. 1, The Bund), originally the McBain Building, housed the Shanghai offices of Royal Dutch Shell and Asiatic Petroleum Company.
- Shanghai Club (No. 3, The Bund), which was the principal social club for British nationals in Shanghai.
- Union Building (No. 4, The Bund), housed a number of insurance companies.
- Nissin Building (No. 5, The Bund), housed a Japanese shipping company.
- China Merchants Bank Building (No. 6, The Bund), housed the first Chinese-owned bank in China.
- Russel & Co. Building (No. 9, The Bund), now houses the China Shipping Merchant Company.
- The HSBC Building (No. 12, The Bund), now used by the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, was once the Shanghai headquarters of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, 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 (No. 13, The Bund), 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.
- China Bank of Communications Building (No. 14, The Bund), was the last building to be built on the Bund. It now houses the Shanghai Council of Trade Unions.
- Russo-Chinese Bank Building (No. 15, The Bund) is now the Shanghai Foreign Exchange
- North China Daily News Building (No. 17, The Bund) housed the most influential English-language newspaper in Shanghai at the time. Today it houses AIA Insurance.
- Chartered Bank Building (No. 18, The Bund) housed the Shanghai headquarters of the Standard Chartered Bank.
- Palace Hotel (No. 19, The Bund), today forms part of the Peace Hotel.
- Sassoon House (No. 20, The Bund), with the attached Cathay Hotel, 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. Today, it forms the other part of the Peace Hotel.
- Bank of China Building (No. 23, The Bund) housed the headquarters of the Bank of China. The stunted appearance of the building is attributed to Sassoon's insistence that no other building on the Bund could rise higher than his.
- Yokohama Specie Bank Building (No. 24, The Bund) housed the Japanese Yokohama Specie Bank.
- Jardine Matheson Building (No. 27, The Bund) housed the then-powerful Jardine Matheson Bank.
- Glen Line Building (No. 2 Beijing Road) today houses the Shanghai Broadcasting Board.
- Banque de l'Indochine Building (No. 29, The Bund) housed the French bank, Banque de l'Indochine.
- Consulate-General of the United Kingdom (No. 33, The Bund) housed the Consulate-General of the United Kingdom. The building is under renovation to be opened as the Peninsula Hotel, Shanghai.
- Broadway Mansions (No. 20, North Suzhou Road) is a hotel.
The Bund ends at Waibaidu Bridge, which crosses Suzhou Creek.
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 novel Empire of the Sun by British author J.G. Ballard, based on his personal experiences as a boy during World War II. The book was later made into a film by Steven Spielberg.
Some views from the Bund
| The Bund, Shanghai
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| Asia Building | Shanghai Club | Union Building | Nissin Building | China Merchants Bank Building Telegraph Building | Russel & Co. Building | HSBC Building | Shanghai Customs House | China Bank of Communications Russo-Chinese Bank Building | Bank of Taiwan Building | North China Daily News Building | Chartered Bank Building | Palace Hotel Sassoon House | Bank of China Building | Yokohama Specie Bank Building | Yangtze Building | Jardine Matheson Building Glen Line Building | Banque de l'Indochine Building | Consulate-General of the United Kingdom | Broadway Mansions | Bund Observatory |
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
[Special]
- [Buildings of the Bund]
- [The Bund and its Environs]
- [Pictures of the Bund taken in 1994]
- [Old panoramic picture of the Bund]
- [Detailed list of buildings along the Bund]
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