Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Bund Don't Miss List
HAN YUQI, 49, ART DIRECTOR, IMAGETUNNEL
1 HISTORIC ALLURE
When I was small, my dad would take me to the Bund. I really wanted to
ride the trams with 'plaits' (electric cables) - they are sadly no more. The
old vessels that pulled in here and the winged statue of the Goddess of
Peace have likewise disappeared. I love the
Customs Building,
the
HSBC
Bank building,
the
Peace Hotel
and the overlooked
Meteorological Sig-
nal Tower:
it all resembles an old film set!
2 NOSTALGIA
The Bund's historical refrain makes me think of Victor Sassoon. But what
does the
Fairmont Peace Hotel
(
Click here
) - back then known as Sas-
soon House and the tallest building on the Bund, courtesy of Shanghai's
most successful adventurer - mean today? Several years ago I went to
listen to the Peace Hotel Old Jazz Band and it came to me: Shanghai is a
modern legend.
3 YUANMINGYUAN ROAD
When admiring the 33 buildings along the bank of the Huangpu River, turn
into Yuanmingyuan Rd and you'll be even more blown away. You may not
know each building's story; you'll be moved by their sheer style and sense
of historical drama. I call this street the 'back garden of the Bund!'
4 ROMANCE
Starting at
Waibaidu Bridge,
the 'Bund Sweetheart's Wall' is actually a
concrete flood barrier. From the 1970s it became Shanghai's most romantic
dating spot partly due to its scenic charms but more because Shanghai
people had such limited living space! On China's 'Valentine's Day' (seventh
day of the seventh month), if you pass by Waibaidu Bridge it's simply a sea
of couples among all the lights.
