The Bund (外滩, "Wai Tan" in Chinese), the symbol of both old and new Shanghai, is a 4-kilometer-long waterfront boulevard along the western Bank of the Huangpu River, stretching from the Waibaidu Bridge in the north to the Nanpu Bridge in the south. On the Bund are 52 buildings of different architectural styles such as Gothic, Baroque Romanesque, Renaissance, and Chinese. Hence, the Bund is also regarded as "The Museum of International Architecture."

      The unique geography around the Bund and that geography's effect on the economies of Shanghai and China throughout the past one hundred years gives the Bund special cultural significance. Considered a historic symbol of Shanghai, the Bund is a source of great pride to the Shanghai people, as it shows the world Shanghai's culture and its capability to combine its local culture with other cultures abroad.

      Memories of the towpath

     The name "Bund" is derived from an Anglo-Indian term meaning "a muddy embankment," recalling the flood barriers that used to line around it. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Shanghai was still a small seaside town on the shore of the Huangpu River, and the Bund area was a mere shallow waterfront covered with reeds.

     Before the foreigners arrived, this area was a towpath with a wide foreshore, covered or uncovered according to the state of the tide, and its wide-open space was secured, not from any aesthetic sense, but because of the necessity of leaving a path for the trackers.

    From time immemorial, trackers had used the towpath along the shore of the Huangpu River, and wooden boats were the means of communication that carried passengers across the Huangpu River. The boats, driven by bamboo poles and oars, meandered slowly along.

     Imprints of the colonial history

    Under the provisions of the Sino-British Nanking Treaty signed after the First Opium War in 1842, Shanghai began to be an open port on November 17, 1843. The British (firstly, diplomats, merchants, and missionaries) came to Shanghai in succession to lease land.

     The Bund was the first settlement in Shanghai. In 1846, Great Britain established its consulate on the Bund, and after that, other countries also established their consulates on the Bund in succession.

     In the early 20th century, the former brick and timber buildings on the Bund were replaced by reinforced concrete high-rises. The Bund became the center of Shanghai's politics, economy, and culture, with the consulates of most countries as well as and many overseas banks, businesses, and newspaper offices settling there.

     A space of 30 feet was reserved between buildings erected on the foreshore and the edge of the river. British settlers gave the road its name "Bund," and the stretch of neoclassical buildings became a showcase for foreign banks, trading houses, hotels, consulates, and lavish gentleman's clubs. Granite from Japan, marble from Italy, and toilets from England were imported.

     About 52 British, French, American, German, Japanese, and Russian, as well as Chinese buildings were built, in various architectural styles such as Gothic and Baroque to Romanesque, Classicism and Renaissance, giving the area a pronounced European flavor. The combination of these created a unique and famous boulevard that resembles the Liverpool Docks and New York in the 1920s.

     From here Shanghai grew into a cosmopolitan and thriving commercial and financial center and Asia's leading city in the 1920s and 1930s.

    Wall Street of the Orient

     Known then as "the Wall Street of the Orient," the Bund was a historical miniature of colonial-era Shanghai.

    The Bund was the first developed golden section after Shanghai had become an open port. Its location was so eminent and land prices were so high that it was a symbol of strength and prestige to own real estates and set up offices on this piece of land, where an inch of land was worth a thousand pieces of gold. Therefore, many foreign banks tried their best and spared no cost to acquire some room on the Bund for the sake of development and prosperity.

     At that time, many foreign banks with huge assets were gathered around the Bund. While the banks of various foreign countries were competing fiercely to establish their status on the Bund, the Commercial Bank of China, the first Chinese capital bank, opened for business on the Bund in 1897. In 1905, the Da Qing Bank, the first national bank in China, started business on the Bund.

      By the 1920s, Shanghai had become the financial center in China as well as in the Far East, and the Bund was the core of this center.

      After 1928, China's Four Banks (the Central Bank of China, the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, and the Agricultural Bank of China) set up their headquarters in Shanghai in succession.

      Among all these buildings, the former Shanghai and Hong Kong Bank and the Customs Building were designed by a famous British designer. People in Shanghai called them "Sister Buildings." Even today, they still remain an important mark of Shanghai, although now they serve as the home of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

    A place that everyone enjoys

    Today, the symbol of Shanghai's identity as a modern city, the Bund is still home to many of the city's hotels, bars, and banks. The nature of the area has not changed much either. Huge western banks and office buildings still dominate the horizon of the Bund, emphasizing the role the city plays as a commercial and financial base.

     However, the pleasure of the Bund is that it is not simply a tourist strip but also a place that everyone enjoys. The new Bund with its parking facilities and widened public walk is mostly devoted to people.

     At sunrise, the boulevard is filled with people of all ages practicing t'ai chi ch'uan, (a slow-paced Chinese martial art system), jogging or dancing, or taking photos. During the day, while visitors stroll up and down the long strip, business runs as usual in many of these magnificent buildings. And, in the evenings, couples wander along the riverfront, holding hands and enjoying the spectacular city lights, buildings and atmosphere of the area, which provide a lasting reminder that Shanghai was, and in many ways still is, where the East meets the West.

    Walking through the Bund, it may feel as though entering a fair of world architecture. The river, the long bank, the green belt, and the different architectural styles of the buildings on the Bund are the most "Shanghai-like" sights in Shanghai.

      Scenic Spots in the Bund

     The Bund, a long and storied road in Shanghai , has been considered a historic symbol of Shanghai for over one hundred years. It is a source of great pride to the Shanghai people, as it shows the world Shanghai's culture and its capability to combine local culture with cultures abroad.

     The Bund faces Shanghai's mother river, the Huangpu River . Behind the Bund are old buildings representing architectural styles from different countries. The unique geography around the Bund and that geography's effect on the economies of Shanghai and China throughout the past one hundred years fills the Bund with cultural significance. The river, the long bank, the green belt, and the different architectural styles of the buildings on the Bund are the most "Shanghai-like" sights in Shanghai. In the morning, the Bund is a popular place for jogging and workouts. It is a charming sight for tourists in the daytime and it becomes a lovers' lane at night.

     Chenyi Square

    At the end of the 10-mile Nanjing Road is Chenyi Square, dominated by a sculpture of Chenyi -- the first Shanghai mayor of the People's Republic of China. The sculpture is made of bronze and stands 5.6 meters high with a red granite underlay of 3.5 meters high. Every weekend, a grand "Square Concert" is held in front of the sculpture.

    To the south of the sculpture is a popular fountain. Many colored lamps are set under the water of the fountain, and these lamps are turned on at night. The beautiful colored water streams created by the lamps are a great sight to see in Chenyi Square at night.

      Sightseeing Tunnel -- The Bund

    The Bund's Tunnel stretches from the end of Nanjing Road on the Puxi side to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower on the Lujiazui side -- a total length of 646.70 meters. This tunnel, finished at the end of 2000, was the first pedestrian tunnel built in China.

    Tourists may enter the tunnel through an elevator at the entrance on either side. It takes between two to five minutes to walk the length of the tunnel. Many high-tech displays are featured inside. All kinds of designs, ads, panoramic displays, and background music about people, history, culture, and technology are displayed throughout the tunnel, making your visit there both interesting and thrilling.

     Waterfall Clock

     The Waterfall Clock in front of the customs building is referred to as "Steps of the Era." The clock is in the middle of the long green corridor of the Bund, and stands 3.5 meters high and 2.7 meters long. The clock is computer-controlled, and shows the time of each of the world's main cities in Arabic figures though the colorful water column, providing local and international tourists with the time all day long.

     "Lovers Wall" at the Bund

     The 1,700-meter-long "Lovers' Wall" stretches from Huangpu Park to the side of the Huangpu River (close to the Xinkai River). The sightseeing platform is actually built on the flood-prevention wall, and the floor of the platform is made of 140,000 pieces of colored granite and bricks. There are 21 bowl-shaped parterres (Flower beds), square kiosks, and irregular kiosks on the platform. There are also many marble chairs on the platform where tourists may stop and relax.

     Sightseeing around the Huangpu River

     Tourists can board a yacht and cruise the Huangpu River, from which they can get a grand vision of both sides of the river. On one side tourists can see the lofty buildings on the Bund, the famous Wai Baidu Bridge, and Huangpu Park, Shanghai's first park in Shanghai. On the other side are the beautiful Oriental Pearl TV Tower -- the tallest tower in China, the Jinmao Building -- China's tallest building, and the rapidly expanding Lujiazui Financial Zone.

      Tourists can also see two great bridges: the Yangpu and Nanpu bridges connecting the two sides of the river. In the middle of the river, tourists will see all styles of boats and ships from many countries.

      Also along the river, tourists can see the busy Shanghai international passenger-transport station, row upon row of commercialized docks, China's biggest steel factory -- Bao Steel, the Wusong Ancient Emplacement Site, and the "Three-Colored Waters" - an intermingling of the yellow water from the Yangtze River , the gray-blue water of the Huangpu River, and the blue water from the East Sea. The waters do not blend with each other, thereby providing a truly wonderful sight under the sun.