The Bund is Shanghai's most iconic waterfront promenade, stretching roughly 1.5 kilometres along the western bank of the Huangpu River in the heart of the city. It is defined by a row of 52 grand colonial-era buildings — neo-classical banks, trading houses, and consulates — built mostly between the 1860s and 1930s when Shanghai was one of the most powerful commercial cities on earth. Walking its length feels like reading a compressed history of ambition: British, American, French, and Japanese institutions all planted their architectural flags here, each one trying to out-impress the last. The result is a streetscape that has no real equivalent anywhere in Asia.
Neighbourhood