Iconic Bund all spruced up and glittering for World Expo

By Han Jing | Sep 4, 2009

on Gabbiani, Design Republic, Peace Hotel, The Bund

The iconic Bund is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. The Bund has undergone a major renovation.

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The iconic Bund is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai, a stretch along the Huangpu River of landmark buildings, the great banks and trading houses of Western settlement days.

The Bund was the "Oriental Wall Street" where the rich and powerful made much of their wealth.

Today the Bund has undergone a major renovation and now houses some of the world's top luxury stores, up-scale venues and glittering restaurants and clubs.

Today from the promenade, it offers a stunning view across the river to the spectacular skyline of Pudong.

The current traffic chaos, tunnel construction and road reconfiguration will be gone by the time World Expo 2010 opens in May.

At one time, the Bund epitomized prosperous Shanghai with its neoclassical buildings, banks, exclusive clubs and consulates. Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, the United States and other countries were represented.

Chen Danyan, a Shanghai-based writer, last year published "Images and Legends of the Shanghai Bund."

In Chen's view, the Bund for many years was, and still is, remote from many Shanghai people's daily lives. It was a paradise for Western bankers at one time and today it features luxury brands targeting at high-end consumers.

The Bund, derived from the Indian word for "bank" (river bank), extends 1.5 kilometers along the Huangpu River. It is noted for at least 52 buildings of distinctive architectural styles.

Once the Bund was divided between the former British and French concessions until the beginning of the 1940s.

During the war years and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Bund structures were boarded up, neglected, divided up, badly renovated and generally forgotten. The Bund area was run down.

It became a lover's lane in the early 1990s when young people could flee their cramped quarters, snuggle and gaze across the river at the bright lights on the other side.

Enormous renovation has taken place, making the Bund a magnet for clubbers and shoppers these days. Buildings have been beautifully restored, including the Asiatic Petroleum Building, Peace Hotel and Dongfeng Hotel.

Traffic reconfiguration is underway to shift roadways and again reveal spectacular views. The current traffic tangle should be cleared away before the opening of the World Expo in May 2010.

The main structure of the Bund traffic tunnel is to be completed before year's end. The multi-level vehicle tunnel will open before the Expo.

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