The Bund

The Bund or Waitan is situated along the Huangpu River and comprises a collection of buildings that were developed by the British after the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing. The treaty basically let Britain in to take over the major Chinese ports, one being Shanghai. Along this piece of land huge buildings were erected and soon this area became a smaller version of London's financial hub.  There is even a clock tower on top of the Customs House that is referred to as "Big Ching," China's version of Big Ben.

Before arriving to this area, I had done lots of reading about the history of each building and was eager to venture inside some of them. I was thoroughly disappointed when I arrived to find the whole are is under construction. One could not walk on the river walk on the east side of the street, nor could you go into any of the buildings, except the ones that were modern day working banks, and only to use the ATM. The Bund museum was also off limits due to construction, as was The Bund Observatory Tower and No. 12 the Pudong Development Bank, which supposedly has a quint coffee shop on the second floor that looks out over the river. I did also venture out on a Sunday, so some of the bank buildings were closed due to the day of the week. But the whole city is under construction for the Shanghai Expo - a.k.a. the World's Fair, which is due to open 54 days from today. (I only know this because there are countdown clocks everywhere around the city!) (Shown above is an illustration of all of the buildings on The Bund) The Bund is supposed to be a spectacular sight at night, as all of the buildings are very well lit. I haven't been out late enough because its been too cold and wet!

Across the Huangpu River lies an area called Pudong (Which literally translates to East of the River, I live in Puxi, West of the River). I have yet to venture over to that side of the city, however, one of the major landmarks of that area is the Pearl TV Tower. (The strange looking tower on the right side of the second photo) I was able to see the tower from the Waibadu Bridge at the northern most part of The Bund. I left The Bund most disappointed and annoyed. I can only hope that the spectacle of lights in this area lives up to my expectation more so than the area did today.