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China 2015, Day 5: Shanghai, Day 3

The Bund and Pudong

The Bund

The Bund is Shanghai’s famous riverfront row of historic buildings built by foreign powers to house their financial and trading institutions.  It is the symbol of old Shanghai.

It's not who you might think! It's Chen Yi, the first Communist mayor of Shanghai. After his mayorship, he was China's foreign minister until his death in 1972. Here he is proudly looking over the Bund. Shanghai, China, Asia.
It’s not who you might think! It’s Chen Yi, the first Communist mayor of Shanghai. After his mayorship, he was China’s foreign minister until his death in 1972. Here he is proudly looking over the Bund.

Shanghai was actually a minor port until the foreigners moved in as a result of rights gained after the First Opium War.  The foreign powers moved in, made Shanghai their own, and made it grow quite quickly.  You may recall the spectacular nighttime view of the Bund from high atop the Shanghai World Financial Center.

View of the historic buildings along the Bund. It was unnerving to me to see the flags of Communist China atop the traditional Western architecture, like a dystopian movie where the Reds win. It took me a while to get used to the flag as being the national flag of China, rather than a symbol of Communism. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
View of the historic buildings along the Bund. It was unnerving to me to see the flags of Communist China atop the traditional Western architecture, like a dystopian movie where the Reds win. It took me a while to get used to the flag as being the national flag of China, rather than a symbol of Communism.

 

Bank of China Building. It was topped out in 1937, just in time for war with Japan. It's a fantastic American art deco style with traditional Chinese design elements. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Bank of China Building. It was topped out in 1937, just in time for war with Japan. It’s a fantastic American art deco style with traditional Chinese design elements.
Peace Hotel, 1929. It was designed by prominent Jewish developer Sir Victor Sassoon. It's now part of the Fairmont chain. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Peace Hotel, 1929. It was designed by prominent Jewish developer Sir Victor Sassoon. It’s now part of the Fairmont chain.
One of the proud lions guarding the Bank of China Building. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
One of the proud lions guarding the Bank of China Building.
North China Daily News Building, 1924. Built in a hybrid Neo-Renaissance/Neoclassical style to house Shanghai's first English-language paper, it was the tallest building in Shanghai when it opened. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
North China Daily News Building, 1924. Built in a hybrid Neo-Renaissance/Neoclassical style to house Shanghai’s first English-language paper, it was the tallest building in Shanghai when it opened.
Russo-Asiatic Bank Building, 1902. Built in the Italian Renaissance style, it was one of the first buildings in China with an elevator and one of the first European-style buildings on the Bund. Shanghai, China, Asia.
Russo-Asiatic Bank Building, 1902. Built in the Italian Renaissance style, it was one of the first buildings in China with an elevator and one of the first European-style buildings on the Bund.

 

Bank of Communications Building, 1948. Another great art deco building. Post-war art deco architecture is rare. This building was planned prior to the war. It was the last building built on the Bund before the Communist victory in 1949. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Bank of Communications Building, 1948. Another great art deco building. Post-war art deco architecture is rare. This building was planned prior to the war. It was the last building built on the Bund before the Communist victory in 1949.
Customs House, 1927. The clock in the tower of the Greek-revival building is a copy of Big Ben in London. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Customs House, 1927. The clock in the tower of the Greek-revival building is a copy of Big Ben in London.
Beautiful mosaic in the entrance of the Customs House. I got tossed out for taking pictures. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Beautiful mosaic in the entrance of the Customs House. I got tossed out for taking pictures.
One of the famous bronze lions outside the former HSBC building. The originals were removed during the Cultural Revolution and are now in the ShanghaiHistory Museum. Replicas were placed in 1997. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
One of the famous bronze lions outside the former HSBC building. The originals were removed during the Cultural Revolution and are now in the Shanghai History Museum. Replicas were placed in 1997.
HSBC Building, 1923. The Neoclassical former headquarters of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was considered the most beautiful building in Asia when it was built. It was the largest bank building in Asia, and second only to the Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh. No pictures were allowed of the beautiful murals inside. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
HSBC Building, 1923. The Neoclassical former headquarters of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was considered the most beautiful building in Asia when it was built. It was the largest bank building in Asia, and second only to the Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh. No pictures were allowed of the beautiful murals inside.
China Merchants Bank Building, 1907. Built in a Gothic-Revival style, it looks like a French chateau! Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
China Merchants Bank Building, 1907. Built in a Gothic-Revival style, it looks like a French chateau!
A view up the Bund. Looks more like London than Shanghai to me.
A view up the Bund. Looks more like London than Shanghai to me.
I love this! The Garuda, a man-bird creature, is the royal symbol of Thailand and the symbol of Bangkok Bank, which now occupies the Great Northern Telegraph Building, 1927. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
I love this! The Garuda, a man-bird creature, is the royal symbol of Thailand and the symbol of Bangkok Bank, which now occupies the Great Northern Telegraph Building, 1927.
The buildings of the Bund, on the right, face the Huangpu River. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
The buildings of the Bund, on the right, face the Huangpu River.
On the far side of the Huangpu River, Pudong, the symbol of modern Shanghai. One of my disappointments of the trip was that I didn't get a great view of Pudong from the Bund, especially at night. (My nighttime pictures from Pudong came out pretty good though.) Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
On the far side of the Huangpu River, Pudong, the symbol of modern Shanghai. One of my disappointments of the trip was that I didn’t get a great view of Pudong from the Bund, especially at night. (My nighttime pictures from Pudong came out pretty good though.)
Monument to the People's Heroes, a monument to revolutionary martyrs. It is extremely reminiscent of Singapore's WWII memorial. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Monument to the People’s Heroes, a monument to revolutionary martyrs. It is extremely reminiscent of Singapore’s WWII memorial.
Detail from the large relief of people's heroes. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Detail from the large relief of people’s heroes.
Okay, so the view of Pudong is getting a little better. None of this was here 25 years ago. It was mostly farmland. Score one for Communism! Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Okay, so the view of Pudong is getting a little better. None of this was here 25 years ago. It was mostly farmland. Score one for Communism!
Go, revolutionary hero, go! Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Go, revolutionary hero, go!

Before I was done on the Bund, a teenage girl asked me to take her picture, which I did.  Then she offered to take my picture, which I rejected.  Then a woman came over–I was guessing it was the girl’s mother–and they started getting very friendly.  I wondered why the girl needed me to take her picture if her mother was 15 feet away.  Yup, it was scam time again.  I quickly moved on.  It was time to cross over from the Bund to Pudong.  And what better way to cross over (well, under, actually) than the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, Shanghai’s tackiest tourist trap!  The Sightseeing Tunnel is a ride under the Huangpu River with the cheesiest of light shows and voices spouting out nearly random phrases in Chinese and English as you cross.  How could I resist!

"Space swirl." Yup, looks like a vortex to me. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
“Space swirl.” Yup, looks like a vortex to me.
"Paradise and hell." Both at the same time, I guess. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
“Paradise and hell.” Both at the same time, I guess.
"Fossil variants." Okay. Not sure if Willy Wonka is manning the controls. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
“Fossil variants.” Okay. Not sure if Willy Wonka is manning the controls.

The funny thing is that as the “Sightseeing Tunnel” is subterranean, there are no actual sights to see.

Pudong

Once I ascended from the netherworld that is the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, it was time to do some daytime exploration of Pudong, having explored it by night soon after my delayed arrival in China.

The Oriental Pearl Tower was the tallest structure in China was it was completed in 1994. It was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2007. You may recall the Shanghai World Financial Center as the giant bottle opener I got great views from on my first night. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
The Oriental Pearl Tower was the tallest structure in China was it was completed in 1994. It was surpassed by the Shanghai World Financial Center in 2007. You may recall the Shanghai World Financial Center as the giant bottle opener I got great views from on my first night.
Beautiful view of the Bund from my lunch spot in Pudong. Bund, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Beautiful view of the Bund from my lunch spot in Pudong.
Pudong's lush Century Park. It's the largest park in Shanghai. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Pudong’s lush Century Park. It’s the largest park in Shanghai.
A pretty view in Century Park. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
A pretty view in Century Park.
Century Park's bamboo forest. I looked, but I didn't see any pandas munching away at the bamboo, unfortunately. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Century Park’s bamboo forest. I looked, but I didn’t see any pandas munching away at the bamboo, unfortunately.
A somewhat more autumnal view in Century Park. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
A somewhat more autumnal view in Century Park.
Century Park exits onto Century Avenue, the main axis of Pudong, from the tranquil park to the extreme modernity of the Oriental Pearl Tower on the riverside. The disk visible in the center of the picture is Oriental LIght, a sundial sculpture representing time. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
Century Park exits onto Century Avenue, the main axis of Pudong, from the tranquil park to the extreme modernity of the Oriental Pearl Tower on the riverside. The disk visible in the center of the picture is Oriental LIght, a sundial sculpture representing time.

At this spot I began to get ruthlessly harassed by merchants who were desperate to get me to go shopping at their subterranean market.  I coldly turned down their come-ons.

I didn't realize this man was blind until I bent down to put some change in his can. I worried that someone would steal it, but he seemed to be okay. He will play a tune for us as we bid adieu (well, "zaijian", actually) to Shanghai. Pudong, Shanghai, China, Asia.
I didn’t realize this man was blind until I bent down to put some change in his can. I worried that someone would steal it, but he seemed to be okay. He will play a tune for us as we bid adieu (well, “zaijian”, actually) to Shanghai.

I collected my things at the hotel, took the subway back to the Maglev, and took the 2-hour flight to Beijing.  I had been annoyed by the humidity in Shanghai, but I figured once I got into the bitter cold in Beijing, I’d be missing the humid warmth of Shanghai.  Turned out not to be true.  Oh, it was bone-chillingly frigid in Beijing.  But it was a dry cold!  I didn’t miss the humidity at all.  Must be the hearty New Englander in me.

I was so pleased that everything worked as I had planned once I arrived in Beijing, even with my flight being delayed over an hour.  I took the appropriate shuttle bus from the airport to the direction of my hotel.  (As in Shanghai, the Beijing subway shuts down ridiculously early.  I ended up, taking the shuttle bus was easier anyway.)  I was completely shocked that announcements on the bus were in both Chinese and English.  I had been concerned about how I would know when we had arrived at my stop.  This wasn’t a fluke.  All buses I rode in Beijing had announcements and route maps in Chinese and English.  Heaven!  When I got off the bus at my stop, just as I had hoped (but hadn’t confirmed), my hotel was virtually across the street.  And there was a handy pedestrian bridge to get me there.  What a great start to the second part of my trip!

[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]

Related posts:

China 2015, Night 1: Shanghai, Night 1 Must-See Shanghai China, A Little History, Part 5 China, A Little History, Part 10

Comments

  1. Ray says

    That “Sightseeing Tunnel” is something else, I tell ya. Ha! As for your comment (RE: Chinese flag representing Communism), I would have agreed with you on that maybe 50 years ago. But within the past 25 years, I would say China has really strayed away from a “pure Communist country.” There has been a lot of Chinese investment in the housing market here in Canada within that timeframe – mainly in Vancouver and Toronto – that has been driving our market into a bubble. So is China really a truly Communist country? Or more like a Socialist Republic now? And your photos of Shanghai’s Bund District kind of answers that for me, especially if there is a Fairmont located there.

    Reply

    • Billy says

      It’s a nice dictatorship to visit–communist, socialist, marxist, or whatever–but I wouldn’t want to live there.

      Reply

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