The Bund

 

• Location: East Zhongshan No.1 Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
• Recommended reason: A famous landmark of Shanghai; a must-visit scenic spot in Shanghai
• Opening hours: All the year around

 

The Bund lies to the east of Huangpu River, which is one of the most symbolic scenic spots in Shanghai. As a 4-kilometer walking tourism area, the Bund stars from Garden Bridge of Shanghai to Nanpu Bridge. The Bund is one of the top 10 new landmarks and the top 10 attractions of Shanghai.

 

History of The Bund

The Bund witness the change of Shanghai history. As the earliest treaty port, Shanghai opened to the outside world. In 1845, British colonialists occupied the Bund and established the British concession. While the Bund was occupied by French colonialists. Under the governance and management of Western powers, the Bund was built to be a prosperous concession in Shanghai. The early Bund is the center of foreign trades. In the period from 1854 to 1941, there were more than ten foreign and domestic banks emerging in the Bund. After 1945, the government made an enormous renovation in the Bund, for example, established more than 100 financial institutes, expand roads and built many constructions, which made Shanghai become a vital international city. As the financial center of Shanghai, the Bund was called "the eastern Wall Street". Since then, owning one piece of land in the Bund is not only a symbol of wealth, but also of fame.
 

 

In 1945, China took back the right of governing the Bund and named officially the Bund as "East Zhongshan No.1 Road" in memory of the great revolutionary pioneer Sun Zhongshan. In the twenty century, with the development of architectural technology and the growth of economy, there were many constructions with various styles emerging in the Bund, including English classic building, Asia building, French classic buildings, gothic constructions, baroque constructions, East Indian constructions, and so on. Gradually, it formed "architectural complex of all nations". These buildings which classicism coexists with modernism become the symbol of Shanghai.

 

The Structure of The Bund

There are 33 constructions in the Bund. Some of them are still for public institutions, for example, the customs building which was built in 1927 is still the office place of customs. The coffered ceiling of the hall is decorated by the Mosaic sailboat patterns, which looks very exquisite. Besides, there is one big clock on top of the customs building. With the history of nearly one century, the antique clock is regarded as the symbol and soul of the Bund.

 

HSBC bank building, also called City Hall, was built in 1925. It's an igloo building of ancient Greek style. The shape of the whole construction is a square. The inner is well-decorated and there are all kinds receptions of American, British, French, Russian and Japanese. The British called it "the most exquisite building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait". HSBC bank building and customs building were designed by the British designer Wilson. People called them "sister building", and now they are still the important symbols of Shanghai.
 

 

The newest building in the Bund, Bank of Communications building, was completed in 1948, has been using by Shanghai federation of trade unions after 1949. Sassoon House built in 1929 with Art Deco style. It's the first construction which created the era of "modern architecture". Sassoon House is the highest building in the Bund. Its tower was decorated by a 19-meter high corrugated bronze cone. Sassoon House was honored as "the first building in the Far East" at that time because of its luxury decoration. And now, it belongs to the Peace hotel  now.
 

Dongfeng Hotel, also called Shanshai Club, is located in the No.2 of the Bund. Dongfeng Hotel was built in 1910 as the General Assembly of the United Kingdom. It's famous for its 110.7-feet long bar counter which was the longest bar in the east. In the early 20th century, Dongfeng Hotel was rebuilt to be a six-floor building covering the contractive area of 9,280 square meters. It's a baroque construction which is decorated exquisitely by floral patterns and wood carving.

 

Highlights of The Bund

Huangpu Park

Huangpu Park is located in No.28, East Zhongshan No.1 Road, which is the earliest European-style garden in Shanghai. Huangpu Park was built in 1868 but only opened for foreigners. The main scenery of Huangpu Park is People's Heroes Memorial Tower with 60 meters in height. Three huge pillars stand firmly up to the sky which symbolizes the heroes who sacrificed in Opium War, May Fourth Movement and War of Liberation.
 

Garden Bridge of Shanghai

Garden Bridge of Shanghai is one of the landmark buildings of old Shanghai. With the length of 52.16 meters and the width of 18.3 meters, Garden Bridge of Shanghai is made of steels, hanging between the Bund and East Broadway Road and across the Suzhou River. As a very important tunnel connecting the north and the east of Shanghai, the people and traffic flows are heavy.
 

Chenyi Square

Chenyi Square lies at the end of Nanjing Road. The statue of the first mayor of Shanghai, Chen Yi, stands in the center of the square. This 5.6-meter high statue faces the south, which is cast by bronze. The bottom is made of red polished granite with a height of 3.5 meters. This statue represents the classic posture of the mayor Chen Yi during his inspection and shows the travel-stained and devoted image as a public servant. There is a modernized fountain on the side of the statue of Chen Yi. When the music turns on, a colorful water column shot to the sky, which adds a brilliant night scene for the Bund.
 

 

Shiliupu

As a key hub in the development of Shanghai, Shiliupu became the financial, shipping and trading center gradually. With the 150-year history, Shiliupu was the largest dock in the Far East that witnessed the development of foreign trades and the growth of Shanghai. There is a 730-meter long platform with a 270-degree field of view in Shiliupu. Standing here, you can see the Architectural Complex of All Nations, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Tower. There is a sunken plaza of 3 floors under the platform. It offers catering and entertainment on the first and second floors.
 

Rockbund

The Rockbund is the origin of the Bund, which is located in the northernmost of the Bund and the south of the Garden Bridge of Shanghai. It's the junction of Huangpu River and Suzhou River. The Rockbund area was first built in 1849 and there were some historic constructions built from 1920 to 1936. It's not only the origin of the Architectural Complex of All Nations, but also the core area of the Bund historic and cultural area. In 1849, the British established consulate, commercial institution and foreign mission in the Rockbund. Then they expanded southward along the Bund from the British consulate, which promoted the development of the west of Pudong River. In the 1920s, the Rockbund became the prosperous new city center. Therefore, in a sense, the Bund is the cradle of the growth and development of Shanghai.
 

Sightseeing Tunnel

Sightseeing Tunnel at the Bund is the first pedestrian tunnel across the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The entrance of Pudong is adjacent to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the entrance of Puxi is in the north of Chenyi square. With the length of 646.7 meters and the total construction area of 17,500 square meters, Sightseeing Tunnel adopted driverless and automatically controlled system and is able to deliver 5,000 passengers per hour. It only takes five minutes to the terminal with a speed of 3 meters per second.

 

Best time to visit The Bund

The Bund platform opens all day for free.

Opening hour of sightseeing lamps: 19:00-23:00(summer); 18:00-22:00(winter)
 

 

How to Get to The Bund

You can take the metro Line 2 or Line 10 and get off at Nanjing East Road.

The Bund is located in the city center, so it's convenient to take the public bus to get there.  The public bus numbers are as follows: No. 33, 37,55,65,305,307,317,330.

There are some tourist buses to the Bund, such as Line 1, Line 3 and Line 5.

Or you can take the ferry from Dongchang Road Dock of Pudong.

 

Tips for visiting The Bund

You can take the Huangpu River sightseeing tunnel from the Bund to Oriental Pearl TV Tower (RMB50 p/p for one-way ticket, RMB70 for round-trip ticket).

Seven classically historic constructions along the Bund offer free reservation. (including Rockbund No.1, Peace Hotel, Bank of China building, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank building, Shanghai Archives at the Bund, Shanghai Telecommunication Museum and Shanghai Historic Monument at the Bund.)

During the public holidays, it will be very crowded at the Bund, so please pay more attention to your safety and visit the Bund in a good order.

 

Create your unique memory in Shanghai

Have strong interests in walking along the Bund? Here are some tour packages for your references:

11 Days China Wonders Experience Tour

11 Days China and Japan Discovery Tour

11 Days Classic China and Thailand Tour

14 Days Classic China and Cambodia Tour

Feel free to contact us for your Shanghai travel plan, we're glad to help you. You can also tailor-made your own Shanghai tour at Free Online Tailor-made Tour to create your unique Shanghai tour.