The Bund in Shanghai, both in the past and present, holds romantic memories for many travelers.

The Bund is an area in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. This area is concentrated along a section of Zhongshan Road within the Shanghai International Settlement (for foreign residents) formerly, running along the Huangpu River, opposite East Nanjing Road, in the eastern part of the Huangpu District. The Bund typically refers to the buildings and waterfront area along this stretch of the road, as well as some adjacent areas.



The Bund stretches about a mile along the Huangpu River. Traditionally, it starts from Yan'an Road (formerly Edward VII Avenue) in the south and ends at Waidaibu Bridge (formerly Garden Bridge) in the north, spanning the Suzhou Creek.

The central axis of the Bund is a section of Zhongshan Road. Zhongshan Road (named after Sun Yat-sen) is a major thoroughfare that forms the boundary according to the traditional concept of Shanghai's "true destination." To the west of this road are 52 buildings in both classical and modern Western architectural styles, which are the main characteristic of the Bund. To the east of the road was formerly a park area, with its peak being the Huangpu Park. This area has been significantly reduced due to the widening of Zhongshan Road. Further east is a raised embankment built in the 1990s to prevent flooding. This construction has significantly altered the appearance of the Bund.



Near the intersection with Nanjing Road, there is a unique bronze statue at the Bund. This statue of Chen Yi, the first Communist mayor of the city. To the extreme north of the Bund, along the riverbank, is Huangpu Park, where the Monument to the People's Heroes is located, a tall concrete tower used to commemorate those who died in Shanghai's revolutionary struggle during the Opium Wars era.

The Bund has about a dozen historical buildings along the Huangpu River, which were once the locations of many banks and commercial buildings from the UK, France, the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and the UK, a newspaper building, the Shanghai Club, and the Masonic Club. The Bund is located north of the old city and is enclosed by the Shanghai wall. Initially, it was the settlement area of the British, and later the settlements of the British and Americans combined in the International Settlement of Shanghai. The surge in skyscraper construction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries made the Bund the financial center of East Asia.

In the 1940s, the Bund was home to the headquarters of many, if not most, major financial institutions operating in China, including the "big four" national banks during the Republic of China era. However, with the victory of the Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War, many financial institutions gradually withdrew in the 1950s, and hotels and clubs closed or changed their purposes. Statues of colonial figures and prominent foreign figures that were once placed along the riverbank were also removed.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the thawing of economic policies in the People's Republic of China, the buildings along the Bund gradually returned to their previous uses. Government agencies were relocated to make way for financial institutions, and hotels resumed operations. Also during this period, flooding caused by storms prompted the construction of a high embankment along the riverbank, raising the quay about 10 meters above street level. In the 1990s, Zhongshan Road was expanded to 10 lanes. As a result, most of the former parkland was lost. Also during this period, the ferry bridges connecting the Bund to the East were removed along the road, which was originally the purpose of this area.



The Bund is closely associated with the movie of the same name that mesmerized thousands of Vietnamese audiences. The film is set in pre-World War II Shanghai during the Republic of China era, featuring a story of complex relationships, grudges, and alliances between Hua Van Cuong and Dinh Luc in the underworld. The Bund also portrays the painful love triangle between the three characters Hua, Dinh, and Phung Trinh Trinh.

For more exciting news, follow the official fan page of Inbound Vietnam