The Bund

Asia
May 18th 2009

Published: May 18th 2009

On Sunday, a group of us went down to the Bund, which is probably the most recognizable part of Shanghai. The Bund is a famous walkway that runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River. We used the metro to travel from the southwestern part of the city, where SJTU is located, to East Nanjing Road. The roundtrip was about 8 RMB, or just over $1 US. When we got off at Nanjing Road, we followed the crowds east a few blocks until we got to the river. Nanjing Road is probably the biggest shopping center in Shanghai, and a large section of the road is pedestrian only to accommodate the enormous crowds.

The Bund area provided us with an excellent view of the skyscrapers in Pudong across the Huangpu River, symbolic of China's rapid economic boom of the past two decades. The most recognizable is of course the Oriental Pearl Tower, the third tallest building in the world and definitely one of the most distinctive. It was pretty hazy yesterday, so some of the buildings were partly obscured, but I'm sure I will be back on a clearer day to get better pictures. Looking back east across Zhongshan

Chinese guys

Some Chinese Guys

Dong Road, we could see the impressive colonial buildings from the early 1900's, when several European powers were making their mark on Shanghai. Back then, Shanghai was called the Paris of the East, and westerners would come here to have a good time. The Huangpu is a very wide river and appears to be pretty dirty, kind of reminds me of the Thames River that runs through London. The waterway is swarming with activity though, with large barges as well as smaller passenger boats passing through.

After lunch, we walked up to Suzhou Creek, which flows into the Huangpu. We crossed the Waibaidu Bridge, a famous steel bridge that spans the creek. The start of the Bund is just south of Suzhou Creek, but right now there is a lot of construction going on to get ready for the World Expo of 2010, so that section of the walkway was closed.

The Bund area is also a very popular place for tourists from around China to visit. A lot of Chinese tourists asked to have their pictures taken with us. I guess it is pretty rare for them to see a group of foreigners. The average height for

Crowd on Nanjing Road

Chinese people is definitely much shorter than most Americans. Still, it is not extremely uncommon to see 6 foot tall Chinese men once in a while. Not many people here speak even a little bit of English, even in the touristy Bund area. It really pays off to have someone with the group that speaks Mandarin.

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