Waitan Embankment: History

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

Shanghai's most famous attraction is its Bund, the name of which literally translates as "coastal shoal". Locals do not like to remember the colonial past of this place, so they also call this street Zhongshan Dong. Tourists in this area can see amazing buildings of the past centuries, located on one side of the river, and on the other side of Huangpu, modern skyscrapers and a TV tower contrast with them.

Time travel

The area in which the Bund (Shanghai) is located is called the Bund and means "dirty shore pier". Europeans came up with such a designation for this place, since earlier an English settlement was located here, which later became international.

The first building here was erected in 1846 by a British company that opened its office in the area. After that, consulates, banks, hotels, mostly in European style, began to actively stand along the embankment. Thus, by the end of the nineteenth century, the Bund became the real financial center of East Asia.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the art deco style came here, and many people toadmire the grandeur of these structures, sailed on excursions along the coast of Huangpu, renting junks. Shanghai, the quay of Weitan (50 years) became a symbol of elegance and success of this time. After the communist revolution, many offices of trade organizations were closed, and hotels and clubs changed their original purpose.

In recent decades, in addition to all the historical buildings, a large number of buildings have been erected in a modern style and a flood prevention wall has been built. It has a height of more than 750 meters, so it also serves as a great place to see the surrounding sights.

Description

Currently, for the Chinese and visiting tourists, the Bund is an architectural symbol of the city. It is one and a half kilometers long and is located on the west bank of the Huangpu River.

In the southern part of this place there is a tourist pier where you can rent boats and boats for water trips. Some people talk about the Bund as a little piece of Europe in the heart of China. Here are buildings built in the ancient Greek style, as well as those with Renaissance architecture.

In the dark, you can see hundreds of neon lights with the names of the world's most famous brands burning above the embankment, as well as brightly lit skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. A wide variety of exotic plants and trees grow around all the structures.

For the sake of preserving such a unique exhibition of world architectural heritageconstruction is strictly prohibited in this area. Therefore, the Vaitan embankment does not change its historical appearance over the years, but only acquires attractiveness and spirituality.

Magnificent buildings

The most popular buildings in this area are:

The Shanghai Foreign Trade Office is a massive structure built in the 1920s. Its distinguishing feature is the Roman arcades and columns.
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower has the brightest illumination and consists of several spheres. This structure was the first high-rise building in the area.
Shanghai World Financial Center - it is popular with tourists due to its unusual shape. That's why people still call him "opener" among themselves.
The Building of the Bank of China, built in 1936 in the style of rational modern. At the time it looked very interesting and unexpected. After this construction, many skyscrapers with similar architecture began to appear.
Shanghai Customs Building, built in 1927. It is recognizable by the large clock on its walls.
The HSBC Bank is a luxurious, imposing building. It used to be the seat of a municipality and is now home to the Pudong Financial Institution.
The Peace Hotel is considered one of the area's most popular buildings. Once there was an office and apartments of the so-calledthe owner of half of Shanghai - Sir Ellis Sassoon. Tourists love to be photographed against the backdrop of this hotel.

What to see?

But the Bund attracts not only connoisseurs of architecture. There are many other local attractions located here. Among them, the most famous are the following:

Monument erected in honor of national heroes. It was installed at the end of the twentieth century and consists of three large rifles leaning against each other.
The Shanghai Uprising Monument of 1927. It is located in Huangpu Park and looks very powerful.
Waitan Embankment Museum. Photos in its galleries will tell the whole history of this area, as well as many interesting facts and details of its development.

In addition, there is a huge number of all kinds of restaurants, cafes and shops.

Interesting to know

It turns out that when foreigners lived in these places, they were not very respectful of the real masters of the country. This is evidenced by a sign hanging in the mid-nineteenth century at the entrance to Huangpu Park, which read: "Chinese and dogs are not allowed to enter."

Another interesting fact about this area is that the film of the famous director and screenwriter Steven Spielberg, called "Empire of the Sun", was filmed here.

Tourist experiences

People who are lucky enough to visit this embankment speak of it extremely enthusiastically. They say that the Bund is especially beautiful in the evening, when it is lit by the lights of a huge metropolis. This place is filled with its own bustling life and color.

Many argue that it is impossible to imagine Shanghai without this area. This embankment impresses with its grandiosity, skyscrapers, colorful buildings and majestic structures. Therefore, even those tourists who have already been on it more than once, anyway, when they come to the capital of China, they want to get back to this amazing place where the Vaitan embankment is located. How to get there, we will tell further.

Methods of travel

There are no subway stations in this part of Shanghai. But there is nothing to worry about, since you can walk to the Bund's Bund on foot. Closest to it is St. Nanjing Road (east line), located at the intersection of the second and tenth lines of the metropolitan subway. The exit from it leads to Nanjing street, from which you can immediately see the building with a large clock, in the direction of this building you need to go.