The Bund

For information on the Jewish labor union movement, also known as The Bund, see General Jewish Labor Union. For the television drama series produced by TVB, see The Bund.

Related Topics:
General Jewish Labor Union - TVB - The Bund

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The Bund (Chinese: 外灘, pinyin Wàitān) or Zhongshan Road is a district or road in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. It is located on the bank of the Huangpu river, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Pinyin - Shanghai - People's Republic of China - Huangpu river - Pudong - Huangpu District

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The Bund has dozens of historical European colonial buildings, lining along the Huangpu river, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, USA, Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain. The Bund lies north of the old, walled town of Shanghai. It began as a British settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia.

Related Topics:
Europe - Britain - France - USA - Russia - Germany - Japan - The Netherlands - Belgium - 19th century - 20th century - East Asia

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Stretching 1.5 kilometers, The Bund houses 52 buildings of various architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Art Deco (Shanghai has one of the richest collections of Art Deco Architectures in the world). The Bund has often been called The Museum of International Architectures.

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Some of the most important landmark buildings in The Bund are the Peace Hotel, the HSBC Building and the Customs Building. The Peace Hotel (formerly Cathay Hotel), also known as the Sassoon Building, was built by Sir Victor Sassoon. It was, and still is today, famous for its jazz band in its cafe. The top floor originally housed Sassoon's private apartment.

Related Topics:
Peace Hotel - Cathay - Sassoon - Jazz

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The HSBC Building, now used by the Pudong Development Bank, was once the headquarters of HSBC, which failed to reach a deal with the Shanghai government to buy the building again in the 1990s, when the Shanghai government moved out of the building that they had used since the 1950s. The present building was completed in 1923. At the time, it was called "the most luxurious building between the Suez Canal and the Bering Strait".

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The Customs Building was built in 1927 on the site of an earlier, traditional Chinese-style customs house. The clock and bell was built in England and in imitation of Big Ben.

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At the northern end of The Bund lies the Monument to the People's Heroes in Shanghai, which is a memorial for the those who died during the revolutionary struggle of Shanghai dating back to the Opium Wars.

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The Bund is arguably one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. In the interest of historical preservation, building heights are restricted in this area.

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