The Bund | |||||||||||||
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Simplified Chinese | 外滩 | ||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 外灘 | ||||||||||||
Literal meaning | "Outer Beach" | ||||||||||||
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The Bund [lower-alpha 1] 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 western bank of the Huangpu River in the eastern part of Huangpu. The area along the river faces the modern skyscrapers of Lujiazui in Pudong. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road,as well as some adjacent areas. This region has a significant European influence,with the style of many structures most comparable to that of European cities,particularly Gothic,Baroque,Neoclassical,Romanesque,Art Deco,and Renaissance architecture. Additionally,some of the city's top eateries are located there. [1] 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.
The term "bund" was borrowed into English from Hindustani : बंद / بند , romanized: band, lit. 'enclosure;dam;embankment',originally referred to a dyke or embankment,which the Hindustani word itself comes from Classical Persian : بند , romanized: band. Within the Chinese treaty ports,it was applied specifically to an embanked quay which ran along the shore. [2] The Chinese name for the Bund is unrelated in origin:it literally means "outer bank",and distinguishes this part of the riverfront from the "inner bank" adjacent to the old city of Shanghai.
The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings,lining the Huangpu River,that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from the United Kingdom,France,the United States,Italy,Russia,Germany,Japan,the Netherlands,and Belgium,as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain,a newspaper,the Shanghai Club 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. 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) was of comparable size to the Bund but functioned more as a working harbourside.
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 era. However,with the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War,many of these financial institutions were gradually moved to Hong Kong in the 1950s. Hotels and clubs were closed or converted to other uses. The statues of colonial figures and foreign worthies which had dotted the riverside were also removed.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s,with the thawing of economic policy in the People's Republic of China,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 typhoons 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),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,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 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. [3]
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 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. [4] 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. [5]
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 [6] took place near Chen Yi Square,where a large crowd,estimated at around 300,000,had gathered for the new year celebration. [7]
The bund is one of the most prominent features when viewed from the Shanghai World Financial Center in Pudong and its observation deck on the 100th floor.
The Bund stretches one mile (1.6 km) along the bank of the Huangpu River. Traditionally,the Bund begins at Yan'an Road (formerly Edward VII Avenue) in the south and ends at Waibaidu Bridge (formerly Garden Bridge) in the north,which crosses Suzhou Creek.
The Bund centres on a stretch of the Zhongshan Road,named after Sun Yat-sen. 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. (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 Huangpu Park.) 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,who served as the first Communist mayor of Shanghai. At the northern end of The Bund,along the riverfront,is Huangpu Park,in which is situated the Shanghai People's Heroes Memorial Tower —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 died fighting natural disasters in China.[ citation needed ]
The Bund houses 52 buildings of various architectural styles,generally Eclecticist,but with some buildings displaying predominantly Romanesque Revival,Gothic Revival,Renaissance Revival,Baroque Revival,Neo-Classical or Beaux-Arts styles,and a number in Art Deco style (Shanghai has one of the richest collections of Art Deco architectures in the world). From the south,the main buildings are:
While Shanghai Metro Line 2 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 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 Lujiazui across the river. A full fare ride on the ferry costs 2 RMB. 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. [10]
Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (外滩观光隧道),a pedestrian transit tunnel under the riverbed 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.
There are numerous studies in Chinese and English,and many popular representations. [11] [12] [13] [14] The Bund was featured in the 1984 novel Empire of the Sun by British author J. G. Ballard,based on his experiences as a boy during the Japanese invasion and occupation. The book was made into a film by Steven Spielberg. The opening pages of the 1999 novel Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson 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 television series The Bund (1980) and film Shanghai Grand (1996). The story of both involve pre-World War II era gangsters competing for control of the Bund. "The Bund" is a song composed by electronic music group The Shanghai Restoration Project released on the group's first eponymous release,inspired by the Shanghai jazz bands of the 1930s. An instrumental 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 , [15] the finale of The Amazing Race:China Rush 1 ,and the premiere of The Amazing Race:China Rush 3 . [16] The Bund is one of the playable stages in The King of Fighters XIV .
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 center. It now refers to the broader Pudong New Area, a state-level new area which extends all the way to the East China Sea.
Huangpu District, makes up the eastern part of Shanghai's traditional urban core and is today the most central of Shanghai's 16 districts. Huangpu district is the seat of municipal government, includes key attractions such as The Bund and the Old City God Temple, as well as popular shopping districts such as Nanjing Road, Huaihai Road, and Xintiandi. The Huangpu District is one of the most densely populated urban districts in the world.
The Huangpu, formerly romanized as Whangpoo, is a 113 km-long (70 mi) river flowing north through Shanghai. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the Huangpu River.
Yangpu is one of the 16 districts of Shanghai. It is located in the northeastern part of downtown Shanghai, bordering the Huangpu River on the east and south, Hongkou on the west, and Baoshan on the north. The southern part of Yangpu District is 4 km (2.5 mi) away from The Bund, a major tourist attraction. It is predominantly composed of residential communities, with a total area of 60.61 km2 (23.40 sq mi) and a population of 1,242,548 as of 2020. The district administers 12 subdistricts.
Puxi is the historic center of Shanghai, China, and remains the home of approximately 48% of Shanghai's residents in an area of 288 km2. Puxi is distinguished from Pudong to its east, which is separated from it by the Huangpu River. Despite the growing importance of Pudong's Lujiazui area, Puxi remains Shanghai's cultural, residential and commercial center.
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 Fairmont Hotels and Resorts of Canada. The South Building was built as the Palace Hotel and is today a residence and studio for artists, known as The Swatch Art Peace Hotel. The two buildings both face the Bund, but are divided by Nanjing Road.
Lujiazui is a locality in Shanghai, a peninsula formed by a bend in the Huangpu River. Since the early 1990s, Lujiazui has been developed specifically as a new financial district of Shanghai. The decision to earmark Lujiazui for this purpose reflects its location: it is located on the east side of the Huangpu River in Pudong, and sits directly across the river from the old financial and business district of the Bund.
The Custom House is an eight story building on the Bund, Shanghai. Built in 1927, the building remains a customs house today. Together with the neighboring HSBC Building, the Custom House is seen as one of the symbols of the Bund and Shanghai.
The HSBC Building is a six-floor neo-classical building in the Bund area of Shanghai, China. It served as the headquarters of the Shanghai branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1923 to 1955, and currently houses the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. The building is situated at number 12, the Bund. Designed by the British architecture firm Palmer & Turner Architects and Surveyors, construction of the building lasted from 5 May 1921 to 23 June 1923.
The Waibaidu Bridge, called the Garden Bridge in English, is the first all-steel bridge, and the only surviving example of a camelback truss bridge, in China. The present bridge is the fourth Western-designed bridge built at its location since 1856, in the downstream of the estuary of the Suzhou Creek, near its confluence with the Huangpu River, adjacent to the Bund in central Shanghai. It connects the Huangpu and Hongkou districts and was opened on 20 January 1908. With its rich history and unique design the Waibaidu Bridge is one of the symbols of Shanghai. Its modern and industrial image may be regarded as the city's landmark bridge. On 15 February 1994 the Shanghai Municipal Government declared the bridge an example of Heritage Architecture, and one of the outstanding structures in Shanghai. In an ever-changing metropolis, the Waibaidu Bridge still remains a popular attraction, and one of the few constants in the city skyline.
Suzhou 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 prior to the rise of Shanghai as a metropolis.
The Shanghai West Bund - Corniche is the riverside of the Shanghai 'West Bund' redevelopment area in Shanghai along a formerly industrial 8.5 kilometre frontage on the northern bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai’s Xuhui District. The redevelopment is part of a re-urbanisation of the Xuhui river frontage as part of a broader strategy for the banks of the Huangpu River as it passes through the centre of the city, including the Bund, Pudong and the site for the World Expo. The municipality held an international design competition, won in 2008 by Peter Verity the international urbanist and architect of PDRc Ltd ifor which he was awarded the special Shanghai Expo Achievement Award.
Shanghai Rush is a Chinese reality television program broadcast by International Channel Shanghai as part of the TV scheduling leading up to the 2010 Shanghai Expo and designed to showcase the city. The series borrowed heavily from the themes of the American reality show The Amazing Race and was produced by Fly Films. The show aired in early 2009, and ended broadcast in July of the same year. Shanghai Rush focused on travel throughout the municipality of Shanghai. After finishing Shanghai Rush, International Channel Shanghai acquired the rights to produce a show under the Amazing Race brand, resulting in the 2010 broadcast of The Amazing Race: China Rush. The winning team of Shanghai Rush was Richard Lin and Alice Tsui Lin.
The urban planning of Shanghai refers to various phases of planning and development of Shanghai, presently the largest city in China and one of the largest in the world. The topic is the focus of the city's Urban Planning Museum, located in People's Square beside City Hall.
Yan'an Elevated Road is an elevated expressway in the city of Shanghai, China. It runs along Yan'an Road in its entirety, continuing from the east terminus of G50 Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway at Huqingping Interchange to just beyond the old building of Shanghai Natural History Museum, at which point it ends and rejoins Yan'an Road on the surface. Traffic is then partly directed underground to the Bund Tunnel. Motorists continuing east can cross the Huangpu River using the East Yan'an Road Tunnel to Pudong.
Shanghai International Finance Center, usually abbreviated as Shanghai IFC, is a commercial building complex and a shopping center located at 8 Century Avenue, Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai, China. It incorporates two tower blocks at 249.9 metres (820 ft) and 259.9 metres (853 ft) housing offices and a hotel, and an 85-metre (279 ft) tall multi-storey building behind and between the two towers.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Shanghai in China.
The Bund Tunnel is a 3.3 km (2.1 mi) sub-surface road and road tunnel in the city of Shanghai, China. The tunnel connects the districts of Hongkou to the north and Huangpu to the south.
Yan'an Road 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 VII, Avenue Foch, and the Great Western Road. The streets were joined together under a common name by the Republic of China government in 1945, then renamed in the early 1950s after the Chinese Communist Party took over Shanghai. The road is named after Yan'an, the Communist base during the Chinese Civil War.
The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel is a tunnel connecting the Shanghai Bund and Pudong in Shanghai, China.
31°14′16.9″N121°29′10.1″E / 31.238028°N 121.486139°E