The Bund
The Bund in Shanghai
The Bund Photo Gallery (Downloadable Pictures)
The Bund, also called Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu (East Zhongshan
1st Road), is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol
of Shanghai for hundreds of years. It is on the west bank of
Huangpu River from the Waibaidu Bridge to Nanpu Bridge and
winds 1500 meters (0.93 mile) in length. The most famous and
attractive sight which is at the west side of the Bund are
the 26 various buildings of different architectural styles
including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism and the
Renaissance. The 1,700-meters (1,859 yards) long
flood-control wall, known as 'the lovers' wall', located on
the side of Huangpu River from Huangpu Park to Xinkai River
and once was the most romantic corner in Shanghai in the
last century. After renovation, the monotone concrete
buildings that lovers leaned against in the past have been
improved into hollowed-out railings full of romantic
atmosphere. Standing by the railings, visitors can have a
'snap-shot' view of the scenery of Pudong Area and Huangpu
River.
Before the 1840s, the Bund was a muddy narrow lane with tall
reeds. It initially became a British settlement. After
Shanghai was established as the trading port in 1846, a
street was paved there and the riversides were reinforced.
Then, rows of commercial buildings were constructed. As the
UK Concession, 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. It was the centre of
Shanghai's politics, economy and culture more than a hundred
years ago, consulates of most countries and many banks,
businesses and newspaper offices were settled there, and
that's why we have these art-like buildings.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the thawing of
economic policy in the People's Republic of China, buildings
on the Bund were gradually returned to their former uses.
Government institutions were moved out in favor of financial
institutions, while hotels resumed trading as such.
In the 1990s the Shanghai government attempted to promote an
extended concept of the Bund to boost tourism and land
values in nearby areas, as well as to reconcile the
promotion of 'colonial relics' with Socialist ideology. From
2008, a major reconfiguration of traffic flow along the Bund
was carried out. After a 33-month upgrade, Shanghai's Bund
was reopened to visitors on March 28, 2010. The veil on the
new Bund was finally lifted.
After the reconstruction, most transit vehicles which
originally got through the ground level roads began to make
their way through the new underground tunnel. The original
eleven driveways on the Bund ground were compressed into
four two-way lanes. Thus more space was left for expending
the four major squares: Huangpu Park, Chen Yi Square, the
Bund Financial Square, and the Observatory Plaza. After
being reconstructed, the new Bund waterfront is neat and
atmospheric. The public activity space is expansive
embracing more visitors.
The Bund has been called a 'museum of international
architecture' and indeed it was and still is. But it was
also much more. Here were located the banks, hotels,
exclusive clubs, press organizations and headquarters of
international concerns. The twenty-six major structures, of
various heights along approximately 1.5 kilometers of
Zhongshan Lu and the Huangpu River, have changed little
externally since the 1930s. All were constructed in
western-inspired styles. After the establishment of the
People's Republic of China in 1949 the old tenants were
gone. They had already been impacted by the wartime crises.
Many of the structures were subdivided into government
offices, department stores or storage areas. Furnishings
were sold off or destroyed, and architectural features
covered.
(TravelChinaGuide.com)
