|
Shanghai Bund, Shanghai is situated on the west bank of a bend in the Huangpu River, in the south of Suzhou Creek. It is one of the most recognizable architectural icons of Shanghai and has become synonymous with the existence of the city. The word” Bund” comes from an Anglo-Indian word, which means an embankment along a muddy waterfront. In fact this is what Shanghai Bund was, when the first British company opened an office there in 1846. The site of the building initially became the site of some of the earliest foreign settlements in Shanghai, after the city was opened as one of five "Treaty Ports" in the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842. Shanghai Bund went through many phases of transformation to attain its present day status. During the latter half of nineteenth century, Bund became the financial and political hub of the international community; it became the Chinese equivalent of Wall Street. The Shanghai comprised of twenty-four major structures, which were build in classical, Gothic, renaissance, eclectic and modern styles. Things changed after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. After this significant event, the old tenants were gone and most of the structures of the Bund became government offices, department stores and storage areas. Presently Shanghai Bund is one of the most extensive construction sites in the world and it reflects significant aspects of Shanghai's rich historical and cultural heritage and also predicts the bright future awaiting the city.
|
