The Bund

When you think of Shanghai, one thinks of the Pudong skyline, which can be seen below.

But across from this sight is the Bund, which is no less interesting, with its houses from when Shanghai was a kind of informal colony of the British and French. The Americans also had a concession, which was later merged with the British to form the so-called "international concession", which was mainly run by the British. The most imposing buildings from this period now stand on the section of the Bund that was administered by the British. They are clearly shaped by monumental European architecture that could rival Whitehall in London. But it is even more reminiscent of Liverpool, which you can see in the photo below.

Shanghai's Bund architecture could also be reminiscent of fictional architecture from films like Batman, perhaps it is due to the style of the 30s, partly with Art Deco influences, but certainly also to architectural elements such as the colossal order, i.e. a row of columns in front of the facade extends over several floors, a clear feature of lordship architecture that can be found on various buildings.

Colossal order in front of the Bank of Taiwan Building (right) and the Russo Chinese Bank Building (left of it) For a more precise orientation, here are the maps with the licenses again. Red: you French concession, above it in ocher the British one, and northeast of the meandering river, the American one. The green stripe is the British section of the river, precisely the part of the Bund that characterizes the historic skyline of Shanghai today.

The border between the French and British shore zones can be clearly seen on the following historical illustration. It is the gateway with the column. The gate is now gone, but the column is still standing, it belongs to the listed architecture - like everything on the Bund - and bears the name Gutzlaff Signal Tower. This column-like tower was built in 1865 and served as a weather station. Today, a small Bund museum is housed in the basement.

View of the Bund from the French side The road has of course still been preserved, but now there is a promenade where the ships are in the picture, on which countless visitors stroll every evening to look at and photograph the opposite skyline in Pudong, but of course also around the Bund Architecture.

An der Brücke, die man auf dem Foto unten sieht, endet der ehemals britische Abschnitt des Bunds. Die Brücke überquert den Fluss Suzhou, der unmittelbar danach in den Huangpu-Fluss mündet. Auf der anderen Seite der Brücke liegt der ehemalige amerikanische Teil Schanghais.

Across the street, on the promenade that runs at street level, there is an entrance to the tunnel that runs under the Huangpu River.

You can't walk, but there is a small train that takes you through the tunnel. It is quite interesting for children with light effects and shows and above all it is convenient to get to the opposite bank of the river.