A stroll along The Bund

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http://www.heygo.com 10th March - The Bund Shanghai



As we started our stroll along The Bund the first sight was something more familiar with New York.



The Bund’s ‘Charging Bull’ has become a popular attraction on the waterfront. At 5.2-meters long, 3.2-meters high and a whopping 2.5 tons in weight, it is almost identical to the original Wall Street Bull on which it is based – only “redder, younger and stronger,” according to the artist of both, Arturo Di Modica.

Designed to represent the growing virulence and power of China’s economy, it was unveiled on May 15, 2010, after the global financial crisis and just ahead of Shanghai’s Expo extravaganza, in a boast that the country was immune to the economic woes of the rest of the world.



Several people were having photographs taken but we managed to get a quick snap without a stranger posing!



The flower wall was very pretty, full of pansies and ceramic orchids.

Apparently the flowers are changed every 2 months and at night the little fines have moving parts inside and give the impression of butterflies fluttering amongst the flowers.



There are 26 colonial-era buildings of different western architectural styles, which give the Bund Shanghai China the fame as a 'museum of international architecture'.



Looking across the Huangpu River, the skyscrapers form a contrast to the colonial buildings shoeing just how Pudong has developed so quickly. A great backdrop for all those photos.



Just a few of the buildings we learnt more about.

Shanghai Customs House

Built in 1927, it is originally named Jianghai Custom House. It is considered as one of the symbols of the Bund together with its sister building, the HSBC Building. The Customs House is in two sections: the eastern section is eight storeys tall and faces the Huangpu River. It is topped by a clock tower, which are 11 storeys or 90 meters tall. The western section is five stories tall, and faces onto Sichuan Road.



North Building of the Peace Hotel

It is the former Sassoon House, built in 1929. Construction began in 1926 and was completed in 1929. The building is thirteen storeys in height, with a basement. Most of the building features granite facing, with the ninth floor and the roof surfaced with terracotta. The eastern façade, facing the Huangpu River and the Bund, features a pyramidal roof with steep sides.The pyramid is faced with copper, which is now aged to green.



Bank of China

Built in 1937, it was previously known as the Bank of China Building. It housed the headquarters of the Bank of China. Its lofty appearance is attributed to Victor Sassoon's insistence that no building on the Bund could rise higher than his own.



Pudong across the river on the east of the Huangpu River runs through downtown Shanghai, was once a desolate farmland that has now been turned into a picturesque urban center with a futuristic skyline and sci-fi inspired skyscrapers.



Having visited Shanghai in 1991 and again in 2006 this tour brought back many memories.

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