The Bund

Stretching for over a kilometre along the banks of the Huangpu River, the Bund is one of Shanghai’s best known landmarks. It is a popular promenade with locals and tourists alike, providing fantastic views of romantic colonial architecture on one riverbank and gleaming high-rise buildings on the other.

Join a walking tour to discover more about the history of the waterfront. Developed by European and American financiers throughout the nineteenth century, the Bund was once a major commercial hub. At its height, it was home to a number of key businesses including the ‘big four’ of the Chinese banking world.

Following the Revolution of 1949, the area gradually fell from grace, eventually becoming little more than a multi-lane traffic jam. Over the last few decades, however, the Bund has seen a major redevelopment with many of its splendid period buildings having been restored and on display as ‘colonial relics’.

The waterfront is a great place to visit in the early morning or later in the day. If you arrive first thing, you’ll find plenty of cafés and stalls where you can enjoy pancakes and steamed dumplings – known as baozi – before heading along the riverfront for a run or a spot of Tai Chi. In the early afternoon, tea is served in the grand hotels along the water.

Later in the day, the Bund turns into a trendy destination for the city’s night owls. Watch the lights reflecting off the darkened waters as you sip a cocktail on a roof terrace or listen to jazz in bars once frequented by the likes of Noel Coward and Charlie Chaplin.

The Bund is easily walkable from the Pudong area of Shanghai – just use the pedestrian tunnel beneath the river. If you are further afield, catch an underground train to East Nanjing Road Station. You can also get here by ferry, or incorporate it into a boat tour along the river.