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The Bund stretches more than 1,000 meters along the bank of the Huangpu River, and houses dozens of historic buildings displaying various architectural styles, including veranda, neo-classical, Gothic Revival, Art Deco and many other styles. Being the richest collection of modern architecture in China, it is a vivid miniature of modern architectural history, and is reputed as the“City Parlour” of Shanghai.
The existing architecture landscape along the Bund is called the Bund Phase III, which mainly took shape in the 1920s. Traces of vivid Chinese elements are also embodied among the leaden-grey stretches of Western-styled architectural complex. In April 2015, the Bund was listed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and State Administration of Cultural Heritage in the first batch of 30 Chinese Historical and Cultural Blocks . It is the only block selected in Shanghai.
The Bund bears witness to the emergence of the 45-km waterfront public space along the Huangpu River and the modern skyscrapers of Lujiazui on the opposite bank, which are horizontal and vertical continuations of the century-old architectural legend. Nowadays, the Bund has become a well-deserved cultural landmark of Shanghai. Reading the stories of these old buildings, you come to understand the history of the Bund and the vast heritage of this dynamic city.
Built in 1916, the Asiatic Petroleum Co. Building is located at No.1 on the Bund. Originally named the McBain Building, it was bought by the Asiatic Petroleum Co. in 1917 and renamed Asiatic Petroleum Building. Its neo-classical style is complemented by Baroque decorations. Its east and south facades, connected by a concave wall, look exactly the same: both divided into three parts, and decorated by granite. The bottom two floors constitute the pedestal. At each of the two entrances stand two Ionic-styled columns, upon which lay a Baroque arched lintel. From the third to the fifth floor is the middle part, the connecting piece of its flanks has three arched windows. The upper part includes the sixth and seventh floors. In the middle are two sets of Ionic dual-column linking two floors. On each floor lies a curved balcony with iron bars. Each lintel of window at two flanks on the sixth floor is decorated with a triangular broken pediment. On the roof of the former Asiatic Petroleum Co. Building erect four turrets and a big terrace. Today the building is used as Jiushi International Arts Center and other enterprises.
Located at No. 2 on the Bund, the Shanghai Club, also known as the British Club, was established in 1864. The tower we see now, was built in 1911. It is the second generation of the Club. With a reinforced concrete structure, it is in a British neo-classical style with Baroque decoration. The twintower structure on the roof is influenced by Baroque art, while its dome is affected by Indian architecture. Eight pairs of Tuscan dual-column linking two floors stand in the hall. A curved corridor lies towards the hall between columns, and the ceiling of the hall is an arch-shaped piece of glass. The bar in the south of the ground floor has a 110-foot long teak bar counter, a rare example of this kind in the world. After 1949, it was used as Shanghai Wholesale Station, and after 1956 started to be used as the International Seamen's Club. In 1971, it was renovated to be the state-owned Dongfeng Hotel. In 2009, it was renovated again for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
Located at No.12 on the Bund, the HSBC Building was completed in 1923. In the centre of its ground floor lies a porch with three semicircular arches, with a pair of bronze lions on its left and its right side respectively. The original bronze lions have been moved to and are displayed in the Shanghai History Museum. The lions now on site are replicas. From the second to the fourth floor, there is a corridor with Corinthian Order columns which penetrate the three floors in the middle. At the top is a three-storey dome imitating the Basilica of St Peter's in Rome. An octagonal hall lies at the main entrance with mosaic paintings showing classical characters and stories on spandrels, drums and domes. These paintings are of highly artistic value. The HSBC Building is reputed to be “the most spectacular building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait” for its prominent location, majestic size and exquisite design. It once was the seat of the Shanghai Municipal Government building after 1955 and now is where Shanghai Pudong Development Bank located since 1996.
Located at No. 13 on the Bund, the Custom House was built in 1925. It has two sections: the east wing faces the Bund while the west wing extends to Middle Sichuan Road. The east facade features three parts with the first two floors as its base. Exterior walls are made of rough stones. At the entrance, the porch is supported by typical Doric columns, and the bronze door is classical. In the middle are standard floors with fine-carved granite finishes which emphasize vertical lines. Above the seventh floor, tall cornices with dentils stick out. A tetrahedral clock tower is in typical Art Deco style with a corner pavilion at its top and varied pillars. In the centre of the hall on the ground floor stands a cast bronze lamp holder. Beaming light illuminates the octagonal caisson ceiling and colourful mosaic maritime patterns. The clock at the top of the Custom House is the largest and earliest custom clock in China. It was also the largest of its kind in Asia at that time. Today the building is used as Shanghai Custom House.
Located at No.19 on the Bund, the Palace Hotel is a six-storey building with a brick-concrete structure and rectangle shape in plane view. It was built in 1906 and designed in a Queen Anne Renaissance style. Its ground floor is entirely constructed in granite and exterior walls of upper stories feature red and white bricks. The south facade originally had a cast iron side corridor of the Art Nouveau style, which no longer exists. The first hanging garden in Shanghai once lied on the roof. On the east wing of the building, one Baroque tower pavilion stood in north and another in south. The two featured different styles and were destroyed by fire in 1912. The current tower pavilions were rebuilt in 1998. The building is equipped with the first manned elevator in Shanghai. Its hall on the ground floor is decorated with teak. There are exquisite wood carvings on dado rails, pillars, staircases and handrails. The east section is a 300-seat restaurant. Today's it is south wing of the Fairmont Peace Hotel.
Located at No. 20 on the Bund, the Sassoon House was completed in 1929. The layout of the building was designed following the roads with an“A” shape in plane view. It was built in Art Deco style with a steel framework. The facades are mainly composed of vertical-line designs, and the entablatures and base mouldings are decorated with geometric figures. The tower roof is a square-based pyramid which is more than 10 metres high and covered with dark green corrugated copper plates. At the top of the tower also stands an obelisk-shaped lantern and now the spire has gone. Indoor marble grounds, walls in mosaics patterns, and design of railings, ceilings and lamps are also in Art Deco style. On the ground floor, there are two arcades. There is an octagonal hall at the meeting-point in the middle. There are famous suites with nine different country styles in the former Sassoon House. The building marks the end of retro form and the start of modern style in the history of modern architecture in Shanghai. It was the most luxurious highrise on the Bund, and was known as“the first building in the Far East”. The Sassoon House was renamed the Peace Hotel after 1956.
The Bank of China Building is located at No. 23 on the Bund. Built from 1935 to 1944, it combines Art Deco style and traditional Chinese architectural features. Looking at this Western-styled skyscraper with Chinese elements, people cannot help but marvel at the chemistry between Chinese and Western culture. Exterior walls are decorated with granite, while the facades highlight vertical-line designs and geometrical decorations. Both sides of the top are stepshaped. At the top of tower lies a gentle pyramid roof made of copper green glazed tiles. The entablatures are decorated with stone brackets, both sides of which are equipped with hollow-out lattice windows. Over the gate there was once a stone carvings showing Confucius travelling around the countries. The railing patterns and window lattices also follow traditional Chinese style. There are nine steps outside the building. Its two gates are decorated with copper patterns. Colonnades and counters decorated by marble stand in the business hall and the ceiling is covered by arched glass. It is the only early modern high-rise with Chinese characteristics among the building clusters on the Bund. Today, it is used as Bank of China Shanghai Branch.
The former Jardine Matheson Building is located at No. 27 on the Bund. It is rectangle shaped in plane view. It started as a five-storey building, and an extra floor was added in the 1930s and another in 1983. The building has a reinforced concrete structure and is in the European classical renaissance style. The building facades are divided into three parts from top to bottom. Exterior walls of the first and second floors feature rough-hewn granite and the facade has serial arcades with connecting doors and windows inside. From the third to the fifth floors, the exterior walls are built with fine granite and the facade has colonnades with five in the middle of east facade and four in the north. They all have Corinthian columns. There were originally stone dolphin statues around the top flagpole, but they were removed due to the addition of stories. Now the upper two additional floors adopt stone-like facing layer. The roof has two-metre high stone walls and the flagpole erects in the middle. The Jardine Matheson Building is an early example of using stone exterior walls in Shanghai. Today, it is used as the House of Roosevelt and other enterprises.
Located at No. 29 on the Bund, the Banque de L'Indo-Chine Building was built from 1912 to 1914. Featuring French classical style with Baroque decoration, its facades are divided into three parts and meticulous in layout. The doors and windows on the ground floor are in tall-arch-style with a pair of Tuscan columns at the entrance and Baroque circinate broken pediments on door frames. In the middle of the second and the third floor are Ionic columns linking the two floors. Windows on the second floor have column and arch decorations, among which the middle one is in Palladian style and with exquisite festoon carvings. The interior is decorated with marble. Double rows of Ionic columns stand in the business hall with a glass vault at the top. These were common patterns for bank at that time. It is a very exquisite building among thebuildings on the Bund. Now it is usesd as China's Everbright Bank Shanghai Branch.
The Broadway Mansions is located at 20 North Suzhou Road and was established in 1934. Facing south, the building is an X-shaped double aluminium and steel frame structure, combining art-deco style with modern American high-rise style. The facade is tall in the middle and has setbacks layer upon layer on both flanks. All cornices at the top are decorated with continuous geometric patterns. Exterior walls are covered with brown tiles which form patterns in the windows. The mansions used to be residence for British businessmen in Shanghai for a short period of time. After 1951, it was renamed Broadway Mansions Hotel Shanghai.