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Neighbourhood Walk: The North Bund

Start Broadway Mansions

End Rockbund Art Museum

Distance 800m

Duration 45 minutes

Begin in Hongkou, where the American Settlement was established in 1848. First stop is the Orwellian brick pile Broadway Mansions (1934), originally an apartment block that later became a favourite with military officers and journalists because of its commanding views over the harbour. The Japanese occupied the building from 1937 until the end of WWII. Not far from here is the Astor House Hotel, established in 1846 as the Richards Hotel. It was Shanghai’s most prestigious hotel until the completion of the Cathay Hotel in 1929, and from 1990 to 1998 its ballroom served as the location of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Across the street is the original Russian Consulate, still in use today. Head south over Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge; 1906), the first steel bridge in China, over which trams used to glide.

From here, cross the street to the grounds of the former British Consulate (1873), whose gardens are also home to the former consul’s residence (1884). The consulate was one of the first foreign buildings to go up in Shanghai in 1852, although the original was destroyed in a fire in 1870. Continue west past the former Shanghai Rowing Club (1905) and former Union Church (1886) to arrive at the restored Yuanming­yuan Rd. This street was once home to several godowns – buildings that served as both warehouses and office space. Such buildings were shared by traders and missionaries, such as the China Baptist Publication Society, whose Gothamesque offices at No 187 (1932) were designed by the prolific Ladislaus Hudec.

Further along is the Italian Renaissance Lyceum Building (1927), the multi- denominational Missions Building (1924; No 169), the lovely YWCA Building (1932; No 133) and the red-brick Yuanmingyuan Apartments (No 115).

Turn onto Huqiu Rd to end the tour at the Royal Asiatic Society Building (1933). Once Shanghai’s first museum, it now houses the Rockbund Art Museum.

For another walk along the Bund, see Click here.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14