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Visitor’s Guide to The Bund: Shanghai’s Newly Opened Waterfront Landmark
Posted on March 28th, 2010 12 comments
Children fly the balloons during the completion ceremony of bund renovation project to welcome the 2010 World Expoin Shanghai, March 28, 2010.
The Bund, Shanghai’s landmark waterfront district and once known as the “Wall Street of Asia”, reopens Sunday after a major facelift as Shanghai attempts to relaunch itself as one of the world’s great financial centers.
Its three-year $415 million restoration, including the building of a six-lane underground tunnel for through traffic, revamping the pedestrian riverfront promenade and adding green space, is a key part of the city’s $45 billion investment for the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the giant international trade fair that will open on the opposite side of the Huangpu River on May 1st.
The 1.8-kilometre, newly marbled walkway along the Huangpu River will offer the best views of the city of Shanghai – past and future. Turn one way to see Shanghai’s 21st Century Bund – Pudong’s new skyscrapers and modern towers across the river. Turn the other, and the graceful neo-classical and art nouveau buildings along the Bund that once inspired people to call Shanghai the Paris of the East are at your feet.
The Peace Hotel, which once hosted Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, has had a full refurbishment, while the Peninsula hotel chain, which was founded in Shanghai in 1866 and once operated four hotels here, the last closing in 1949, has reopened.
The long bar of the Shanghai Club, once the watering hole of the city’s elite, is also to reopen next year, now managed by Waldorf Astoria.
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Highlights of the new Bund
Promenade
The famous 2,000-meter-long promenade is said by city planners to be “as charming and friendly to tourists as the Champs Elysee in Paris.?
The promenade was once a quite place for lovers to walk, hold hands or nuzzle along the banks of the Huangpu River. Today it’s wider, and still friendly to couples. Around 2,000 seats have been installed around the squares for tourists. Baby-changing rooms have been set up.
Parks and Squares
A 2,600-square-meter waterfront platform in the Huangpu Park Square is designed for viewing both sides of the Huangpu River.
A bronze bull sculpture, like the one on Wall Street, will be set in the Financial Square. Information screens will broadcast financial news. Two other squares are Chen Yi Square and Observatory Square, all connected by walkways, the riverside promenade and large areas of greenery.
Waibaidu Bridge
The bridge, which is known as Garden Bridge, at the north end of the Bund area was dismantled and moved away to make room for underground tunneling work. The restored Waibaidu Bridge made its return last year.
It offers a spectacular view of the Bund and Huangpu River.
Three levels
The new Bund has three levels ?the waterfront platform, squares and Zhongshan Road. Before the renovation, visitors had to use the tunnel or the overpass to cross Zhongshan Road.
Shiliupu Dock
The Shiliupu area at the southern end of the Bund has been transformed into a business venue, connected with a traffic hub, which is a terminal for four city bus routes and tourist buses.
The dock is also a cruise-ship terminal with 12 berths for river sightseeing vessels.
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Street smart: The Bund, Shanghai
Much of 1930s Shanghai has disappeared but here on the Bund you can still glimpse the pre-war decadence and sophistication at a host of reinvented glamour bars, restaurants and shops.
THREE ON THE BUND
Designed by American architect Michael Graves, Three on the Bund houses, inter alia, four of the city's top eateries, a spa with rivers of flowing Evian, and the city's flagship Armani store.
Start your exploring at Three on the Bund, a buzzy, multi-floor reincarnation of an elegant post-Renaissance building. Here you’ll find an exciting melting pot of art, culture, food, fashion, pampering and music. Four original restaurants cover most palates, including nouveau French by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Mod Oz by Greek-Australian David Laris. New Heights cafe on the top floor is less fancy (and less pricey) than the others, making it a popular spot for a drink under the stars. On the floors below you’ll find the impressive Shanghai Gallery of Art, the chi-chi Evian Spa and enough high-end stores to rattle the strongest of wills (Armani recently opened its China flagship store here, the first major fashion house to take up residence on the Bund).
No. 3 The Bund, entrance at 17 Guang Dong Road; +86 (21) 6323 3355; threeonthebund.com.
HUANGPU PARK
Monument to the People's Heroes at Huangpu Park, Shanghai
Greenis always gold in Shanghai, where high-rises and 24-7 construction are the norm. Huangpu Park is the oldest and smallest park in the city, sitting pretty at the northern end of the Bund. Here you’ll find the impressive Monument to the People’s Heroes, a 24-metre concrete monolith honoring those who helped to free China from foreign occupation. Drop by at dawn to witness legions of elderly Chinese practicing tai chi and qigong. Also in the park is the small but well-formed Bund Historical Museum, showing the history of the Bund in old black-and-white photographs.
The Bund, near the intersection with Beijing East Road.
THE HSBC BUILDING
The HSBC building completed in 1923, was the second largest bank building in the world at that time, after the Bank of Scotland building in UK
Architecture buffs won’t want to miss a peek into the vast lobby area of the renovated HSBC Building. Built in 1923, it’s one of the best examples of neo-classicism in China. In its heyday it was called “the most luxurious building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait”. It was renovated a decade ago, with the work revealing exquisite mosaic murals of world cities. A quick-thinking architect had the mosaics covered over in paint to save them from destruction by the Red Guards.
No. 12 the Bund.
M ON THE BUND
M's signature pavlova dessert
Australian Michelle Garnaut is a visionary. When she created her signature restaurants and bar on the Bund a dozen years ago, the area was derelict and unpopular. Today, the roll-call of guests who have eaten at M on the Bund includes Kevin Rudd, Henry Kissinger, Richard Branson, Kate Moss, Kylie Minogue, Bette Midler and John Galliano. The adjoining Glamour Bar is the most popular bar in Shanghai, a luxe, grown-up establishment with excellent views where bankers from Paris mix with starlets from Hollywood. The epic cocktail list includes terrific martinis. Sunday afternoon tea is also a treat.
No. 5 the Bund (corner of Guangdong Lu); +86 (21) 6350 9988; m-restaurantgroup.com.
THE PEACE HOTEL
The Peace Hotel is also the former Sasson House, a 13-story building that was the tallest in Shanghai at that time.The Sasson family gained incredible wealth through opium smuggling.
If these walls could talk … the Peace Hotel (originally the Cathay) stands proud and legendary along the Bund, a keeper of glamorous secrets from the 1930s, old Shanghai’s most decadent period. Back then, every night was an excuse for diplomats and celebrities to dress up and play. On March 28, after a three-year renovation and millions of dollars spent, the fabled hotel reopens as the Fairmont Peace Hotel. The new owners have promised the art deco ambience won’t be lost in the swanky makeover.
The Bund (enter from Nanjing Road East); fairmont.com.
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The History of The Bund
1843
THE Bund opened as the Treaty of Nanjing went into effect, opening Shanghai for trade with the Western world.
1845
Shanghai Land Regulation was signed by Britain and Shanghai. It established the residential area for Britons in Shanghai as the region west of the Huangpu River and north of Yangjingbang River (today where Yan’an Road E. goes). It established the Lijiachang area (south of Beijing Road E.) where British businessmen could rent and build residences.
1848
Huangputan Road was open at the Bund area with foreign businessmen’s requests. The customs of the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) moved to the Bund.1856
Waiyangjingbang Bridge was built on the Yangjingbang River (today’s Yan’an Road E.) at the Bund. Wills Bridge was built at the north part of the Bund.
1857
The British concession area expanded continuously, overseas capital flooded in. More than 40 foreign fi rms were set up along the Bund.
1864
More than 61 foreign firms were operating on the Bund, which became the biggest finance and trade
center in the Far East.1865
Gas street lamps were installed on the Bund. Foreign firms used gas lamps for lighting.
1868
The Municipal Committee built the Public Garden (now Huangpu Park) at the south Bund.
1882
Shanghai Electric Construction Co began operation. Arc lights replaced gas light on the Bund.
1924
The first public bus line opened at the Bund.
1937
The Bank of China, Shanghai Branch, opened on the Bund. There were 167 foreign- and China-invested banks and fi nancial institutions on the Bund. The Bund architectural complex was mostly complete.
1949
Shanghai was liberated. All of the Bund architectural complexes were nationalized.
1989
The lighting project for the Bund architectural complex began. Flood-lighting technology was used to perfect the Bund night scene.
1993
Two flood control retaining walls, one for Huangpu Park and one for the Bund, were completed.
1994
Monument to the People’s Heroes was unveiled. Renovated Bund featured a 1,820- meter-long viewing platform.
Some foreigninvested banks, foreign-invested insurance companies and domestic financial institutions returned to the Bund.
The city decided to illuminate the Bund every night. In 1995 the lighting for more than 40 buildings was remote-controlled.
2000
The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel linking the Bund and Pudong New Area opened on National Day. The tunnel was 647 meters long and the distance could be traveled in a few minutes.
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What to See & Do
Top Ten Shanghai Must-See Attractions
Modern Architectural Wonders of Shanghai-
Where to Dine
Taste of Shanghai – A Guide to Shanghai’s Best Food
- Where to Shop
Shop ’til you drop – Shanghai Shopping Guide
- Where to Stay
Top Ten Ritziest Hotels in Shanghai
Attractions 景点, English, Food and Drink 美食与美酒, Guide 指南, Hotel 酒店, Travel 旅游 M on the Bund, The Bund12 responses to “Visitor’s Guide to The Bund: Shanghai’s Newly Opened Waterfront Landmark”
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Suzhou Cobblers, a cute boutique right off the Bund on Fuzhou Road, sells exquisite, hand-embroidered silk slippers. (room 101, 17 Fuzhou Rd. 021-6321-7087)
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Dexter Barkhurst April 16th, 2010 at 00:17
Feedback in regard to fashions generally attracted me. Most of the post, Visitor’s Guide to The Bund: Shanghai’s Newly Opened Waterfront Landmark @ meiguoxing.com/blog, generates several totally unusual and also abreast observations. …
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Elia Yucha April 25th, 2010 at 13:49
Hello I read a bit of your site which I found absolutely by mistake while doing a bit of online research for some of my research projects. Please write lots more as it is rare that somebody has something appealing to say about this. I will be watching for more!
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GreenGrassIreland May 5th, 2010 at 19:07
A 647m voyage with entertainment from budget effects, garish lighting and surreal props, the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (300 East Zhongshan No 1 Rd) is a transport mode that guarantees to get you to Pudong in an altered state. Stepping from the trains at the terminus, visitors are visibly nonplussed, their disbelief surpassed only by those with return tickets. A combined ticket includes the excellent China Sex Culture Museum and other attractions Pudong-side.
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DavidEnglandUK May 9th, 2010 at 11:49
The Bund museum (1 East Zhongshan No 2, The Bund) at the Meteorological Signal Tower (also called the Gutzlaff Signal Tower) only contains a small scattering of ground-floor historical photographs. Originally a wooden tower, this version was built in 1907 as a meteorological relay station set up by the tireless Shanghai Jesuits. The tower was moved southeast by 22.4m in the mid 1990s.
Head up the staircase to the second floor where a bar has cashed in on the monuments’ unique character and spot-on views from its terrace a further floor above.
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LVshanghai May 10th, 2010 at 12:18
The completely rebuilt Bund, the riverfront in downtown Shanghai on the Puxi side of the Huangpu, is now prepared to host the spectacle of a colossal “people scene.”
What once was the simple slanted riverbank with wooden shipping boats pulled ashore in the 1800s, then developed with a seawall and platforms, now in 2010 emerges as the grand esplanade of China, perhaps of Asia.
The highpoints of the Bund are at each end. On the north, next to the 102-year-old Waibaidu Bridge across the Suzhou Creek, is Huangpu Park, known over the years as Shanghai’s lovers’ park. On the south end of the Bund is the Shiliupu Pier, now designed to handle the many river cruise boats while providing an elevated viewing platform for the Huangpu. It contrasts with the northern forested park by being more of a granite park with plantings.
The bonus of the older colonial Shanghai architecture on your shore and the modern twenty-first century city farther away across the river is one factor which makes this esplanade special. The landscaping of the Bund now provides some greenery and plantings which soften the view of the “heavy” Art Deco and neo-classical architecture of Bund buildings.
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Shijima May 11th, 2010 at 00:33
万博の直前に仕事で上海に行ってきたのですが、外灘（ワイタン）の変化にびっくり。
上海の名所外灘（旧称バンド）租界時代の上海の中心地であった。ここには当時の建築物が多く残っている。また黄浦江の対岸には、上海の中でも最も急速に発展しつつある浦東新区の中心である陸家嘴金融・貿易開発区の高層ビル群と上海のシンボル的存在の東方明珠タワーが望める。
外灘は夜の景色も美しく、クラシックな建物がライトアップされています。大きな遊歩道を散歩しながら眺めると素敵です。
行き方. 地下鉄2号線「南京東路」から徒歩10分
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Victoria Huang July 12th, 2010 at 09:14
My Memory of Waibaidu Bridge and Suzhou CreekShanghai has been experiencing unprecedented development over the past 20 years. The city evokes images of high rises like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the bullet-speed magnetic levitation train, and bridges soaring high above the Huangpu River. Of course, you can never forget Shanghai’s two most famous landmarks, the Bund and Nanjing Road. Two places that might be overlooked, however, are Suzhou Creek and the 103-year-old Waibaidu Bridge.
My memories of Shanghai start with this bridge. My aunt moved to Shanghai after marrying her husband, who was then engaged in the fur business. She lived along Suzhou Creek, very close to the Waibaidu Bridge. When I was little, I went to Shanghai very often. One of my leisure activities during the dull daily life was walking along Suzhou Creek, crossing the Waibaidu Bridge to the Bund and then spending who-knows-how-long watching ships on the Huangpu River come and go with their sirens blaring. I still keep a photo of my sister and me standing in front of the Waibaidu Bridge. To people living in Shanghai, the Waibaidu Bridge is Grandma’s bridge, just as we all sing in the popular song. But most of the time we ignore her existence. I doubt many people can answer questions like, why do we call it the Waibaidu Bridge? Who built it? And why was there such a modern bridge back in the early 1900s?
The Waibaidu Bridge was built downstream from the estuary of Suzhou Creek, near its confluence with the Huangpu River and adjacent to the Bund in central Shanghai. It connects the Huangpu and Hongkou districts. The present bridge opened in 1908. Before this, there were two wooden bridges built at the same location but in different years.
Before bridges were built over Suzhou Creek, citizens had to use ferries and sluice gates to cross it. With Shanghai becoming an international trade port through the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, and foreign countries being granted concessions in the city, traffic between both sides of Suzhou Creek soared in the 1850s, increasing the need for a bridge close to the mouth of the river.
In October 1856, a British businessman named Charles Wills and an American named Edward R. Cunningham, with the finances provided by a consortium of 20 investors, established the Soochow Creek Bridge Company, the first company in China focusing mainly on bridge construction. They constructed the first bridge across Suzhou Creek, which soon became known as the Wills’ Bridge. This bridge was made entirely of wood. It had a “draw” on the Hongkou side to allow larger boats to enter or exit Suzhou Creek. Since this bridge was built by personal investment, a toll was collected from passengers and cars using it. Even though Wills and his company made a fortune from this bridge, they didn’t properly maintain it. By 1870, the Wills’ Bridge was in bad shape.
In October 1873, the Shanghai Municipal Council bought out the owners of the Wills’ Bridge and eliminated the toll. The Wills’ Bridge was destroyed, and a new bridge was constructed. This bridge was completed in August 1876. Since it was close to the garden on the Bund, it was called the Garden Bridge. But people in Shanghai preferred to call it the “Waibaidu Bridge.”
The wooden bridge was demolished in 1906, and a new steel bridge was constructed to accommodate both trams and automobiles. This bridge was built under the supervision of the Shanghai Municipal Council, with steel imported from England. The Waibadu Bridge was designed by the British firm Howarth Erskine Ltd. When it opened in 1907, it was the first steel bridge in China.
Around the Waibaidu Bridge there were three high rises at that time: the Astor House Hotel (or Richard’s Hotel as it was known at the time), the Broadway Mansions Hotel (or Shanghai Mansions as it is locally called) and the General Post Office Building (now the Shanghai Post Building). Together with the Waibaidu Bridge, they are the symbols of Shanghai in that era, among which the Astor House Hotel tops the list with many firsts in Chinese history. Coal gas was first used to artificially illuminate the streets of Shanghai, earning the city the nickname “the city without nights.” In 1867, the Astor House Hotel was the first in Shanghai to use coal gas to provide lighting. The first public display of electric lights was made in Shanghai in 1882. When Shanghai lit its first 15 electric street lamps, seven were installed in the Astor House Hotel, making it the first building in China to be lit by electricity. The Astor House Hotel was also the first building in Shanghai to install running water. Thus, the Astor House Hotel became one of the best hotels not only in Shanghai but also in the Far East. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, many world-famous people stayed in this hotel, including Bertrand Russell (the British philosopher), Albert Einstein and Charles Chaplin. Ordinary people could only dream about the luxurious life inside through the ever-bright windows of the Astor House Hotel while walking on the Waibaidu Bridge.
Because of the above mentioned reasons, the Waibaidu Bridge has become a very important part in the life of Shanghai, which you can see in many literary works and movies. Midnight, written by Mao Dun in 1933, is a novel set entirely in Shanghai that opens with a naive outsider crossing the Waibaidu Bridge to enter the city. Steven Spielberg’s film Empire of the Sun shows Shanghai in 1941. In a scene reflecting the volatile atmosphere of the times, a British family is seen passing the border post on the Waibaidu Bridge, while the Chinese people around them are subject to the whim of Japanese soldiers. In Lust, Caution, a Chinese espionage thriller directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee, the Waibaidu Bridge appears twice.
The Waibaidu Bridge celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary in 2007. At the end of February 2008, the bridge was closed to all traffic in preparation for its move into a shipyard in Pudong for extensive repairs and restoration. Some 63,000 steel rivets were replaced, about 40 percent of the total. Engineers also found high sulfur content in the bridge after conducting tests on its structural integrity, necessitating the removal of rust. Repainting was another major task, requiring all the rust and old paint to be removed from the bridge before new coats were applied. The restored bridge, which reopened to pedestrians in April 2009, now stands on new concrete piles that are wider and deeper than the original wooden supports and is expected to have a safe lifespan of at least another 50 years.
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DLSchneider August 9th, 2010 at 11:06
Mansion in the East – Shanghai’s Peace Hotel Reopens
For those heading to Shanghai for the World Expo this summer, a must-see destination can be found at No. 20, on Shanghai’s neoclassical riverfront – The Bund — where the north building of the legendary Peace Hotel reopened after a three-year, $65 million renovation to restore what was once the Far East’s most luxurious hotel to its 1930s glory.The newly named Fairmont Peace Hotel was built in 1929 by Sir Victor Sassoon, and originally called the Cathay Hotel. The hotel once hosted Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw and Noel Coward.
Nine of the new hotel’s 270 rooms, with advertised prices starting around $350, are decorated to celebrate the cultures of nine nations: India, England, China, America, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Germany. With its beautiful view of the Huangpu River, the Peace hotel is also known for its Jazz Bar, which has been frequented by such luminaries as Jimmy Carter, Queen Elizabeth II, and Ronald Reagan.Despite the modern touches, the hotel’s restored art deco interior and the kitschy Dragon Phoenix restaurant create the sensation of stepping back in time, contrasting with Shanghai’s many efforts to show an ultra-modern face.
Fairmont Peace Hotel
20 Nanjing Dong Lu, The Bund
南京东路20号, 近外滩
tel +86 21 6321 6888
http://www.fairmont.com/peacehotel
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Drop Ship Platform March 29th, 2010 at 08:14