The Bund or Waitan (,

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...

: ''Nga³thae¹'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former

Shanghai International Settlement The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdictio ...

, which runs along the western bank of the

Huangpu River The Huangpu (), formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River. The Huangpu is the biggest river in central Shanghai, with the Suzhou Creek being its maj ...

in the eastern part of Huangpu District. The area along the river faces the modern skyscrapers of

Lujiazui Lujiazui, also known under its Shanghainese name Lohkatse (, , lit. meaning " he Lu family's mouth"), is a locality in Shanghai, a peninsula formed by a bend in the Huangpu River. Since the early 1990s, Lujiazui has been developed specifically ...

in the

Pudong District Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. From the 1860s to the 1930s, it was the rich and powerful center of the foreign establishment in Shanghai, operating as a legally protected

treaty port Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...

Name

The term "bund" was borrowed into English from Hindustani and originally referred to a dyke or embankment. Within the Chinese treaty ports, it was applied specifically to an embanked quay which ran along the shore. The Chinese name for the Bund is unrelated in origin: it literally means "outer

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

", and distinguishes this part of the riverfront from the "inner bank" adjacent to the

old city of Shanghai The Old City of Shanghai (; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Lo Zenshian''), also formerly known as the Chinese city, is the traditional urban core of Shanghai. Its boundary was formerly defined by a defensive wall. The Old City was the county seat for t ...

History

The Bund, Shanghai in 1926 as seen from the US Consulate General

The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the

Shanghai Club The Shanghai Club Building is a six-storey Baroque Revival building in Shanghai located at No.2, The Bund. Once home to one of the premier men's clubs in Shanghai, the building was used for various clubs and hotels after 1949. It is currently pa ...

and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. It was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. Magnificent commercial buildings in the Beaux Arts style sprang up in the years around the turn of the 20th century as the Bund developed into a major financial center of

east Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

. Directly to the south, and just northeast of the old walled city, the former French Bund (the ''quai de France'', part of the

Shanghai French Concession The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. T ...

) was of comparable size to the Bund but functioned more as a working harbourside. The Russian Consulate on the Bund, Huangpu Road

By the 1940s, the Bund housed the headquarters of many, if not most, of the major financial institutions operating in China, including the "big four" national banks in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

era. However, with the Communist victory in the

Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

, many of the financial institutions were moved out gradually in the 1950s, and the hotels and clubs closed or converted to other uses. The statues of colonial figures and foreign worthies which had dotted the riverside were also removed.

Post Cultural Revolution

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the thawing of economic policy in the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, buildings on the Bund were gradually returned to their former uses. Government institutions were moved out in favour of financial institutions, while hotels resumed trading as such. Also during this period, a series of floods caused by

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

s motivated the municipal government to construct a tall levee along the riverfront, with the result that the embankment now stands some 10 metres higher than street level. In the 1990s, Zhongshan Road (named after

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

), the road on which the Bund is centred, was widened to ten lanes. As a result, most of the parkland which had existed along the road disappeared. Also in this period, the ferry wharves connecting the Bund and

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic city ...

, which had served the area's original purpose, were removed. A number of pleasure cruises still operate from some nearby wharves. In the 1990s, the Shanghai government attempted to promote an extended concept of the Bund to boost tourism, and land value in nearby areas, as well as to reconcile the promotion of "colonial relics" with the Socialist ideology. In its expanded form, the term "Bund" (as "New Bund" or "Northern Bund") was used to refer to areas south of the Yan'an Road, and a stretch of riverfront north of the Suzhou River ( Zhabei). Such use of the term, however, remains rare outside of tourism literature. On March 28, 2010, the eve of the opening of the World Expo, the Bund fully completed its renovation project.

Twenty first century redevelopment

From 2008, a major reconfiguration of traffic flow along the Bund was carried out. The first stage of the plan involved the southern end of the Bund, and saw the demolition of a section of the Yan'an Road elevated expressway, including removal of the large elevated expressway exit structure that formerly dominated the confluence of Yan'an Road and the Bund. A second phase involved the year-long restoration of the century-old

Waibaidu Bridge The Waibaidu Bridge (), called the Garden Bridge in English, is the first all-steel bridge,"The Preservation and Renovation of Waibaidu Bridge,"''WHITR-AP (Shanghai) NEWSLETTER'' 9 (March 2009):4.; http://whitr-ap.org/download/Newsletter%209.pdf an ...

at the northern end of the Bund. In a third stage, the former 10-lane Bund roadway was reconstructed in two levels, with six lanes carried in a new tunnel. The vacated road space was used to widen the landscaped promenade along the waterfront. The new concrete bridge that was built in 1991 to relieve traffic on Waibaidu Bridge was rendered obsolete by the new double-levelled roadway, and demolished. The Bund was reopened to the public on Sunday 28 March 2010 after restoration for the 2010 Expo. ICBC building on the Bund, Shanghai

A stampede occurred on December 31, 2014, at 11:36 p.m. in the waterfront. At least 36 people were killed and 47 injured in the incident. The primary incident took place near Chen Yi Square, where a large crowd, estimated at around 300,000, had gathered for the new year celebration. The bund is one of the most prominent features when viewed from the

Shanghai World Financial Center The Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC; , Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Guejieu Cinyon Tsonsin'') is a supertall skyscraper located in the Pudong district of Shanghai. It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by the Mori Building Compan ...

in Pudong and its observation deck on the 100th floor.

Layout

The bund, looking north east as viewed from the custom house bell tower

The bund, looking south as viewed from the custom house bell tower

The Bund stretches one mile (1.6 km) along the bank of the Huangpu River. Traditionally, the Bund begins at

Yan'an Road Yan'an Road (; Shanghainese: Yi'ue Lu) is a road in Shanghai, a major east–west thoroughfare through the centre of the city. The modern Yan'an Road is in three sections, reflecting three connected streets which existed pre-1945: Avenue Edward ...

(formerly Edward VII Avenue) in the south and ends at

(formerly Garden Bridge) in the north, which crosses

Suzhou Creek Suzhou Creek (or Soochow Creek), also called the Wusong (Woosung) River, is a river that passes through the Shanghai city center. It is named after the neighboring city of Suzhou (Soochow), Jiangsu, the predominant settlement in this area pri ...

. The Bund centres on a stretch of the

Zhongshan Road Zhongshan, Chungshan, or Jhongshan () is a common name of Chinese roads, usually in honor of Sun Yat-sen, better known in Chinese as "Sun Chungshan (Zhongshan)", who is considered by many to be the "Father of Modern China". In Chinese cities, "Zho ...

, named after

. Zhongshan Road is a largely circular road which formed the traditional conceptual boundary of Shanghai city "proper". To the west of this stretch of the road stands some 52 buildings of various Western classical and modern styles which is the main feature of the Bund (see Architecture and buildings below). To the east of the road was formerly a stretch of parkland culminating at

Huangpu Park Huangpu Park () is the name of the triangular stretch of green at the northern end of the Bund in Shanghai, the oldest and smallest park of the city. It is the site of the large Monument to the People's Heroes, commemorating those who helped ...

. (This park is the site of the infamous sign reported to have proclaimed "no dogs or Chinese", although this exact wording never existed. Further information, including an image of the sign, can be found at the article on

.) This area is now much reduced due to the expansion of Zhongshan Road. Further east is a tall levee, constructed in the 1990s to ward off flood waters. The construction of this high wall has dramatically changed the appearance of the Bund. Near the Nanjing Road intersection stands the only bronze statue along the Bund, a statue of military officer

Chen Yi Chen Yi may refer to: * Xuanzang (602–664), born as Chen Yi, Chinese Buddhist monk in Tang Dynasty * Chen Yi (Kuomintang) Chen Yi (; courtesy names Gongxia (公俠) and later Gongqia (公洽), sobriquet Tuisu (退素); May 3, 1883 – June ...

, who served as the first Communist

mayor of Shanghai This is a list of mayors of Shanghai, China. In the People's Republic of China, the mayor is subordinate to the Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai. Republic of China Mayor of the Shanghai Special Municipal Government # Huang Fu (July 7, 1 ...

. At the northern end of The Bund, along the riverfront, is

, in which is situated the Monument to the People's Heroes - a tall, abstract concrete tower constructed by the Shanghai government in 1993 to serve as a memorial commemorating Chinese revolutionary martyrs, as well as those who have lost their lives fighting natural disasters in China.

Architecture and buildings

The Bund houses 52 buildings of various architectural styles, generally Eclecticist, but with some buildings displaying predominantly

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

Baroque Revival The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculpt ...

, Neo-Classical or Beaux-Arts styles, and a number in

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

style (Shanghai has one of the richest collections of

architectures in the world). From the south, the main buildings are: * American Club 209 Fuzhou Rd - General Claire Chennault, then Executive Director of China Post 1, used the premises until 1948. Built by

László Hudec László Ede Hudec or Ladislav Hudec ( hu, Hugyecz László Ede) (Besztercebánya, Austria-Hungary (now Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) January 8, 1893 – Berkeley, October 26, 1958), Chinese name Wu Dake (), was a Hungarian– Slovak architect acti ...

of Curry & Co. between 1923 and 1925 in the American Georgian Style. Originally built as an all-male club after purchasing the site in 1922, it was a popular club for expatriates. A six-story building plus basement, around 1000m² per floor, designed in the common steel and concrete construction prevalent along The Bund area of Shanghai. Containing bars,

billiard room A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table. (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be us ...

and 50 bedrooms there was also a rooftop garden. * Asia Building (No. 1, The Bund), originally the McBain Building, housed the Shanghai offices of

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

and

Asiatic Petroleum Company Asiatic Petroleum Company (APC) was a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies founded in 1903. It operated in Asia in the early twentieth century. The corporate headquarters were on The Bund in Shanghai, China. The division ...

. *

(No. 2, The Bund), which was the principal social club for British nationals in Shanghai. Since 2010 the Waldorf-Astoria Shanghai Hotel. * Union Building (No. 3, The Bund), previously housed a number of insurance companies, and is now a shopping centre. * The Mercantile Bank of India, London, and China building (No. 4, The Bund), housed the

Mercantile Bank of India, London and China The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China, later Mercantile Bank Ltd (), was an Anglo-Indian bank with business focus in the Far East. It was founded in Bombay in 1853 as the Mercantile Bank of Bombay; and later in 1857 was renamed to Mer ...

, built between 1916-1918. * 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, and is now

Shiatzy Chen Shiatzy Chen () is a Taiwanese luxury fashion house founded in 1978 by Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia (王陳彩霞) and her husband Wang Yuan-Hong. Its style is described as "neo-Chinese chic", combining the aesthetics of Chinese clothing and handicraft ...

’s Shanghai flagship store, which opened in October 2005. * Great Northern Telegraph Building (No. 7, The Bund), housed

Great Northern Telegraph Company GN Store Nord A/S is a Danish manufacturer of hearing aids (GN ReSound/GN Hearing) and headsets ( Jabra (GN Audio)). GN Store Nord A/S is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen (ISIN code DK0010272632). History The Great Northern Telegraph Company ...

. Site of the first telephone switch in Shanghai in 1882. * Russel & Co. Building (No. 9, The Bund), housed the China Shipping Merchant Company, and currently houses the Shanghai flagship store for

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cos ...

. * The HSBC Building (No. 12, The Bund), now used by the

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd (SPDB or Pufa; ) is a state-owned joint-stock commercial bank, established in 1993, with its headquarters located in Shanghai. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank issued a 400 million A-share offer on Septemb ...

, was once the Shanghai headquarters of the

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

, 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 A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

(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 before the founding of the People's Republic. It now houses the Shanghai Council of Trade Unions. * Russo-Chinese Bank Building (No. 15, The Bund) is now the Shanghai Gold Exchange. * Bank of Taiwan Building (No. 16, The Bund) is now the China Merchants Bank. * 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 what became

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...

the building now houses designer shops, the restaurant Mr & Mrs Bund, and a creative exhibition space. HQ of Chipolbrok Chinese-Polish shipping company (1962-1998). * Palace Hotel (No. 19, The Bund), today forms part of the

Peace Hotel The Peace Hotel () is a hotel on The Bund in Shanghai, China, which overlooks the surrounding areas. The hotel has two different buildings. The Sassoon House, originally housed the Cathay Hotel and is today the Fairmont Peace Hotel run by Fairmon ...

. *

Sassoon House The Peace Hotel () is a hotel on The Bund in Shanghai, China, which overlooks the surrounding areas. The hotel has two different buildings. The Sassoon House, originally housed the Cathay Hotel and is today the Fairmont Peace Hotel run by Fairmon ...

(No. 20, The Bund), with the attached Cathay Hotel, was built by Sir

Victor Sassoon Sir Ellice Victor Sassoon, 3rd Baronet, (20 December 1881 – 13 August 1961) was a businessman and hotelier from the wealthy Baghdadi Jewish Sassoon merchant and banking family. Biography Sir Ellice Victor Elias Sassoon was born 30 Decembe ...

. It was, and still is today, famous for its

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

band in its cafe. The top floor originally housed Sassoon's private apartment. Today, it forms the other part of the

. * Bank of China Building (No. 23, The Bund) housed the headquarters of the

Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ) is a Chinese majority state-owned commercial bank headquartered in Beijing and the fourth largest bank in the world. The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, rep ...

. 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. * Yangtze Insurance Building (No. 26, The Bund) today houses a Shanghai branch of the

Agricultural Bank of China Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), also known as AgBank, is one of the " Big Four" banks in China. It was founded on 10 July 1951, and has its headquarters in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It has branches throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, ...

. * Jardine Matheson Building (No. 27, The Bund) housed the then-powerful Jardine Matheson company. Today it houses a Rolex store on the ground floor, offices, and the House of Roosevelt, a bar and restaurant. * 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 The Banque de l'Indochine (), originally Banque de l'Indo-Chine ("Bank of Indochina"), was a bank created in 1875 in Paris to finance French colonial development in Asia. As a bank of issue in Indochina until 1952 (and in French Paci ...

. * Consulate-General of the United Kingdom (No. 33, The Bund) housed the Consulate-General of the

. The building has been renovated and in 2010 re-opened as No. 1 Waitanyuan, a private dining facility for government. Part of the site has also been used to build the Peninsula Hotel, Shanghai which opened in 2010. * Gutzlaff Signal Tower also known as the Bund Weather Tower, originally provided weather information to ships on the

with the current structure dating from 1907. *

West Bund Art & Design West Bund Art & Design () or the "West Bund Art & Design Fair" is an annual international contemporary art fair held Shanghai, China during November. Location West Bund Art & Design is located on the western side of the Huangpu River in Shang ...

( Chinese: 西岸艺术与设计博览会) hosts an annual international

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...

fair held

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

during November.

City beach

''Location'': 421 Waima Lu, by Maojiayuan Lu Shanghai
''Admission fee'': 50RMB Located at the west bank of the Hunagpu river, on the south part of The Bund is an artificial beach. It is popular during the summer months this white sandy beach is open to the public for lounging, swimming and outdoor sports and a separate splash pool for children.

Transport

While

Shanghai Metro Line 2 Line 2 is an east–west line in the Shanghai Metro network. With a length of nearly , it is the second longest line in the metro system after line 11. Line 2 runs from in the west to in the east, passing Hongqiao Airport, the Huangpu river, a ...

crosses the Bund, there are no plans to build a station on the Bund. The closest station is East Nanjing Road, about a five-minute walk up Nanjing Road. East-1 Zhongshan Road is a major bus route. There were previously frequent ferry services operating by

Shanghai Ferry The Shanghai Ferry (Chinese: 上海市轮渡, abbr. 市轮渡) is a system of ferry routes across the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The ferry service started on January 5, 1911 by the municipal authorities in Pudong. Before the 1970s, the ferry serv ...

from wharves on and near the Bund. The most popular remaining ferry service runs from Jinling Road wharf, near the southern end of the Bund, to Dongchang Road wharf, at the southern end of

across the river. A full fare ride on the ferry costs 2 RMB. River Cruise, Huangpu River from Shanghai

A number of companies offer Huangpu River cruises (boat tours) departing from the wharf; all of the major buildings in the Bund, and in Pudong, are illuminated each evening. A pedestrian transit tunnel crosses the Huangpu River from the Bund. Passengers board slow-moving SK people movers which travel along the tunnel, with light effects projected onto the walls of the tunnel. These effects are marketed as a tourist attraction; the charge for the tunnel is ten times the fee for crossing the river on Line 2 and 20 times the 2 RMB fee for crossing by ferry.

In popular culture

There are numerous studies in Chinese and English, and many popular representations. The Bund was featured in the 1984 novel ''

Empire of the Sun ''Empire of the Sun'' is a 1984 novel by English writer J. G. Ballard; it was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story "The Dead Time" (published in the anthology ...

'' by British author

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

, based on his experiences as a boy during the Japanese invasion and occupation. The book was made into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

. The opening pages of the 1999 novel ''

Cryptonomicon ''Cryptonomicon'' is a 1999 novel by American author Neal Stephenson, set in two different time periods. One group of characters are World War II-era Allied codebreakers and tactical-deception operatives affiliated with the Government Code an ...

'' by

Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work e ...

are set on the Bund in November 1941, as civil order collapses under the threat of Japanese invasion. The Bund is a setting (and namesake) of the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

television series ''

The Bund The Bund or Waitan (, Shanghainese romanization: ''Nga3thae1'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former S ...

'' (1980) and film ''

Shanghai Grand ''Shanghai Grand'', also known as ''Shanghai Grand 1996'' to differentiate this film from the more illustrious 1980 television series of the same Chinese title, is a 1996 Hong Kong action crime drama film directed by Poon Man-kit and starring ...

'' (1996). The story of both involve pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era gangsters competing for control of the Bund. "The Bund" is a song composed by

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

group

The Shanghai Restoration Project The Shanghai Restoration Project (SRP) is a Barcelona-based contemporary electronic music duo, consisting of Chinese American artists Dave Liang and Sun Yunfan. Background Producer Dave Liang was born in Lawrence, Kansas and grew up in Upstate ...

released on the group's first

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

release, inspired by the Shanghai jazz bands of the 1930s. An

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

version of the song titled "The Bund (Instrumental)" was released in 2008 on the group's ''Day - Night (Instrumentals)'' album. The Bund was featured in the premiere of ''

The Amazing Race 21 ''The Amazing Race 21'' is the twenty-first season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on September 30, 2012, and the tw ...

'', the finale of '' The Amazing Race: China Rush 1'', and the premiere of '' The Amazing Race: China Rush 3''. The Bund is one of the playable stages in ''

The King of Fighters XIV ''(KOF XIV)'' is a 2016 Japanese fighting game. Part of SNK's franchise ''The King of Fighters'' (''KOF'') series, with this installment being published by Atlus USA in North America and Deep Silver in Europe. After the 13th installment that ...

''.

Gallery

File:Bund at night.jpg, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank building and the Shanghai Custom House building File:BundAtNight.JPG, File:Peace Hotel.JPG, From left to right: The Peace Hotel, Bank of China building, and former Yokohama Specie Bank. File:ChinaTrip2005-163.jpg, The Bund viewed from Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong File:Bundnightview.JPG, File:Customs House and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.jpg, The Shanghai Custom House Building, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank during the day File:PudongBW.jpg, Pudong seen from The Bund File:The bund at night from Pudong.JPG, The bund at night from Pudong File:The Bund, Shanghai, c1890s.jpg, Circa 1890s File:View from Shanghai Tower Observation Deck.jpg, The Bund seen from the Shanghai Tower Observation Deck

References

External links

What year the buildings were built on the Bund

Historic film footage of buildings along The Bund in year 1928 (begins at 0:40 in linked video clip).

Video of a walk along the Bund Promenade

A gallery of images featuring kite enthusiasts flying kites in the early morning along the Bund in Shanghai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bund Art Deco Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shanghai Landmarks in Shanghai Streets in Shanghai Waterfronts Shanghai International Settlement