The Jardine Matheson Building () is a seven-storey historical building on

the Bund The Bund 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 Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the wester ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Location and history

The building is located at No. 27 on

, at the junction with East Beijing Road (formerly Peking Road). The

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

–based Scottish firm

Jardine Matheson Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (also known as Jardines) is a Hong Kong–based, Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange ...

started trading in Shanghai in early 1843 and became one of the first foreign businesses to set up branches in the city. The company rented this piece of land, of size 2100 square metres and a typical two storied gardened English cottage was built on it in 1845. This cottage underwent three major renovations through its history, and was replaced by a notably larger three storey building of Masonry and Wood structure In 1865, a

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

and a canopy were also added. The construction of the current building on the site was started in 1920, and was completed in November 1922. It was designed by Moorhead ＆ Halse in Beaux-Arts style and was built by contractor Yu Chang Tai. It started as a five-storey building with a floor area of 14,300 square metres. In 1930, an extra floor was added. During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, the building was taken over by the Japanese firm Mitsui Bussan Kaisha Company Limited. In 1946, Jardine Matheson returned to the building but its profits fell substantially and it was forced to rent the building to other firms. These occupants include the Cheong Hing Shipping Company and the British consulate, amongst others. In 1955, the building began to be used by the Shanghai Foreign Trade Administration Office. Another storey was added in 1983. This addition has been criticized to have altered the original building style. In 2009, the largest

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

flagship store in the world, with a floor space of 1000 square metres, opened on the first floor of the building. Prior to its opening, the building underwent a large scale interior renovation costing 80 million RMB to restore the building's original appearance.

Gallery

File:Jardine Matheson Building The Bund Side View.JPG, Side view of the building File:Jardine Matheson Building The Bund during the Late Qing Dynasty.jpg, The second generation building on the site File:Jardine Matheson Building The Bund Old Pic.jpg, The building before the two extra stories were added atop

References

External links

{{coord, 31.2428, N, 121.4855, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1922 Buildings and structures in Shanghai The Bund 1922 establishments in Shanghai