Even nowadays, books discussing the history of Shanghai refer to the wokou, or Japanese pirates. Originally, the Yokohama Specie Bank Building had a facade decorated with ornaments in the Japanese style. At the time, this was easy for the Japanese to do, as the Chinese had no say over what happened in Shanghai. Over time, though, these ornaments have been removed, mostly during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. In these years, Shanghai was embroiled in the Red Revolution and matching slogans covered the whole city.
The unpleasant experiences visited on the Chinese, and the prejudice and general disposition toward the Japanese is reflected in the story of another Shanghai building. This is the Shanghai World Financial Centre, located in Pudong, across the river. As the principal developer, Minoru Mori, was Japanese, the Chinese took it as a sign to be on their guard, and kept a close watch on the whole construction process. It is said that originally, the top of the World Financial Centre was supposed be adorned by a circle. The Chinese interpreted this as a direct hint at the Japanese national flag, which bears a red circle on a white background, and demanded that the design be changed. Thus, the circle became a rhombus and the World Financial Centre, like other buildings in Shanghai, bears the scars of history that are hard to overcome.
Over time, the Yokohama Specie Bank Building has housed several other banks. Today, it is the location of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or ICBC – the largest bank in China, and one of the largest in the world. Note how the original, powerful Japanese bank has left and been replaced by the most successful bank in China.
And our next stop is also a bank. This building, located in another loop of the “dragon” that parallels the river, is one of the most original on the Bund. Building No. 23, or the Bank of China Building got its modern appearance in 1937. It is located on the grounds of the former German Club and is one of the newest buildings on the Bund. Remarkably, all of the steel used in construction came from Germany. Another characteristic of the building is its clear Chinese origin. Both the roof of the building and the stone relief seen above the main entrance let every knowledgeable visitor know, that the building has more to do with the East, than it has with the West. The stone relief, by the way, depicts the journeys of Confucius as he travelled through China.
In Chinese architecture, these are very common elements, and once you find out that the architect of the building was Chinese, they start making sense. While the other buildings have Ionic columns and baroque entryways, the Bank of China Building seems to be like a cypress towering over some Chinese temple. The only building higher than this one is the Peace Hotel Building located right next-door and only by 60 centimeters higher.
The reason for this lies in the fact that Jewish businessman, Victor Sassoon, forbade any building to be erected on the Bund that was higher than his own Peace Hotel. In this, the English representatives supported him. In a clearly discriminating decision, the latter prohibited the Chinese from building houses higher than the Peace Hotel, or Sassoon House, as it was called. This decision was based on the “questionable construction quality” of Chinese buildings. According to the original design, the Bank of China Building was supposed to become the highest building in South-East Asia. Instead of the 17 floors we see today, it was planned to have 34, meaning that the final result was only half as high as the owners wanted. But if you think that this was the end of the problem with the height of Chinese buildings on the Bund, you are mistaken.
When the construction began in 1936, Sassoon did all he could to disrupt and disturb the work. He even went as far as to send beggars to swarm the construction site. Still, his efforts proved fruitless - in the end, the building was completed. As a small revenge, the Chinese installed a spire at the roof. The spire reached markedly higher than the Sassoon House over the street. As the story goes, on seeing that his house was no longer the highest, Victor Sassoon was so upset he couldn’t sleep for days and only calmed down after turning his bed to face south instead of north. Indeed, the millionaire’s anger was hard to contain. This is why the two matching giants still stare at each other, looking perhaps a bit angry. The Bank of China Building is like an ark for Chinese culture, alone in the middle of this quarter of foreigners.
It’s difficult to tell how much of that story is true, but the indisputable fact is that the Sassoon family was very, very successful. During the middle of the 19th century, as much as 20% of all opium delivered to China arrived on the ships belonging to the Sassoon family. In addition to opium, the ships also carried textiles from England. On their return trips, the holds were full of silk, tea and silver. The Sassoon family fortunes grew for many generations, and in this respect, Victor Sassoon was no exception. He became the uncrowned king of real estate of all Shanghai, and successfully established more than 30 different companies.
Speaking of Victor Sassoon, we have to say that the Sassoon House, or the Peace Hotel, is inarguably both the most famous and the most controversial building on the Bund. Over the years, it has been home to different companies, hotels, official departments and banking offices. The most famous part of the building is its copper roof, covered with the green patina of age. The round window underneath reminds one of an eye, diligently keeping watch on the world. In a way, it’s like the gaze of Victor Sassoon, ever alert to see what his competitors are up to.
The Sassoon House is 77 meters high and has 10 floors. In places, though, the building contains 13 floors, making it one of the first Asian skyscrapers. However, the fame, or notoriety, of it can’t be attributed to only its height. In the early 20th century, the 5th through 7th floors of the building housed the Cathay Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in the world. The name Cathay might seem strange; keep in mind, though, that prior to World War II, many people still referred to China by its ancient European name of Cathay. A similar name adorns one of the largest trans-Pacific airline companies, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific.
Victor Sassoon himself inhabited the 10th floor of the building. The windows of his suite opened on the Bank of China Building. Having found out that the next building blocked much of his view, the millionaire was reportedly outraged.
Hopefully, he was somewhat consoled by the guests to his hotel. In the beginning of the 20th century, most of high society visiting Shanghai stayed in the Cathay Hotel. The amount of VIPs who have stayed here is quite astonishing. Charlie Chaplin and his wife Paulette Goddard; General George Marshall; George Bernard Shaw; John Leighton Stuart, the last United States Ambassador to China before the relations between the two countries thawed in 1979. If the name General Marshall seems unfamiliar, then be advised that the Marshall Plan, devised after the end of World War II, was his brainchild. General Marshall’s stay in China was due to his task to work out a peace agreement between the communist and nationalist forces that clashed in China after World War II. And Noël Coward, the celebrated English playwright, wrote his Private Lives right here, in the Cathay Hotel. If you have read the play you know that coincidentally, the events described in the book take place in a hotel! In 1956, the hotel was renamed The Peace Hotel, and in 2007, it was re-renamed The Fairmont Peace Hotel.
Perhaps, if General Marshall had had better results with his peace efforts, China after the war would have been quite different. The reality is that in 1946 China was torn apart by civil war. The foreigners living in Shanghai fled, including Victor Sassoon. The Sassoon House was seized by the Shanghai City Council as a reimbursement for vague debts. In 1956, the building was reopened as the Peace Hotel. When the French President Charles de Gaulle visited China in 1964, the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhou Enlai received him at the Peace Hotel. A few days later, France became the first western power to restore diplomatic relations with China.
During the Cultural Revolution 1966 through 1976, the building became one of the headquarters for the movement. Today, Shanghai is a capitalist heaven; it might seem unbelievable that during those days, Shanghai was home to the fiercest proponents of the Cultural Revolution. Luckily, those days hav
e passed, and the Peace Hotel is slowly regaining its lost glory. The list of important visitors is getting longer year-by-year. In the recent past, people like U.S. President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, stayed here in 1998.
But it’s time to move on. Crossing the Nanjing Lu Street we find ourselves in front of a very peculiar building. The rooftop tower, and the renaissance-style facade make it seem more like a Chinese mosque than a world-class hotel. Taking a closer look, we notice that the lower part of the building is constructed of brownish stone; the upper part, meanwhile, is red and white. It is almost as if the building was built in two stages - and so it was. The lower half dates from the middle of the 19th century, when one of Shanghai’s first hotels, the Central Hotel, was built on this location. The upper half represents the first decade of the 20th century, when the building was raised up to 6 floors.
The overall height of the house became 30 meters and in order to make things easier for the visitors, the first lift in Shanghai was installed here. In the middle of the 20th century, the Central Hotel building was added to the Peace Hotel. Building No. 19 was renamed the Peace Hotel South Building, and No. 20 was renamed the Peace Hotel North Building.
In 1909, the International Opium Commission was held here. At the Nanjing Lu Road side of the building there is a memorial plate for this event. Certainly, holding such a commission in China seems a bit controversial – it was China who lost the most because of the opium trade. And furthermore, it was the Western countries that used the Opium Wars to force China to open its harbors. But all things considered, the results of the commission were positive – a decade later, all opium trade was prohibited. Another interesting fact is that in 1911, after the Qing Dynasty had fallen, the founders of the Republic of China met in this very hotel. As a result of this meeting, Sun Yatsen was elected as President. In other words, the evolution of post-dynastic China began here.
Today, a visitor to the hotel will find it much more mundane. After extensive renovations from 2007-2010, the building houses the Peace Hotel South Building, co-managed by the Swiss Swatch Group and the Chinese Jing Jiang Group. Swatch Group, by the way, is no newcomer to Shanghai. In 1895 Omega, owned by Swatch Group, installed the first European clock in the Shanghai Railway Station.
The next building we stop at is Building No. 18 – Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. As the name indicates, this is a predecessor to one of the largest banks in England – Standard Chartered Bank. It is hard to overestimate the role China played in its success. The trade between China and Europe gave a huge boost to the development of the bank, with opium trade being a determining factor. As profits increased, the bank started dealing in other goods and in other areas. The branch offices in India and China successfully established a trading network that covered Asia, Europe and Australia.
Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China first arrived in Shanghai in 1858. Their presence on the Bund is more recent – after several relocations in Shanghai, they moved to the Bund in 1923. Like other buildings on the Bund, the house was seized by the Shanghai City Council in the middle of the 20th century.
Today, Standard Chartered Bank has returned to China. Nevertheless, their former house was not returned to them. Instead, after renovations completed in 2004, the building represents one of the visions for the future of the Bund. Several luxury brands, both Chinese and foreign, can be found here. Perhaps you wish to dine in the restaurant? How about a visit to the art gallery? The latter always has an exhibition or two open. Kokai Studio has done their best to restore the building to its original state. In 2006 UNESCO rewarded the renovations with their Pacific Heritage cultural protection award.
The Bund - buildings No. 17-9
As the symbol of Shanghai, or even the entire Asian finance world, the Bund is certain to give off an aura of mystery. Considering Chinese mythology, it is perhaps strangely fitting that this ‘dragon’ on the banks of the Huangpu River is the playground for the wealthiest and most successful businesses...
Building No. 17, or the North China Daily News Building, was completed in 1923. At the time, it was the highest building in Shanghai with its 9 floors and it represented the most influential English newspaper in China. At the time, The North China Daily News was a bit like The Washington Post, or The New York Times. Established in 1850, it reported on all of the important news, both local and global, as they appeared to the eyes of foreigners. Among the Chinese, the newspaper was even called the ‘official newspaper’ of the British Government.
Disregarding the events that were to follow, The North China Daily News became the longest-issued Chinese newspaper. Altogether, it was printed for 101 years. It had the most extensive network of reporters, giving it an unprecedented ability to process news from distant parts of the world, and China. For example, the Tianjin Massacre of 1870, when the locals attacked the Catholics and other foreigners in the area, took place 1000 kilometers north of Shanghai. Nonetheless, the newspaper quickly gave a good overview of what was happening. Or, for example, when the Japanese slaughtered 300,000 Chinese in Nanjing in 1937, it was The North China Daily News that delivered the news about this abomination to the world.
Being fair, however, it can be said that while journalistically, the newspaper excelled, it was still rather stubborn, and mostly catered to the views and opinions of foreigners. Perhaps the future was in part affected by this stubbornness; perhaps not. Either way, it’s a fact that after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, the newspaper was forced to shut down. As with other buildings on the Bund, it now belonged to the Shanghai municipal government.
In the early days Building No. 17 held another famous establishment - American Asiatic Underwriters, a well-known insurance company, in fact a predecessor to AIG (American International Group). After being forced out for decades, AIG returned to Building No. 17 in 1999, through their American International Assurance company. For this reason, the building is also referred to as the AIA Building, letters AIA are very visible on the facade. Since this remains the only time when a foreign company has returned to their old address on the Bund after leaving China, it can be difficult to determine which name is more correct - the North China Daily News Building or the AIA Building.
Alongside this former giant, we will find Building No. 16. This is the Bank of Taiwan Building. As the name implies, the bank was established in Taiwan in 1897, and by Japanese businessmen at that. At the time, Japan was expanding; having conquered the island of Taiwan in 1895, they slowly spread to continental China, and in 1924, Bank of Taiwan made its first appearance in Shanghai. Considering the fact that the Japanese conquest of Asia was at its height, it seems understandable that they wished to cement their economic success and spread to other corners of the continent.
Thus, the Bank of Taiwan Building is another memento of times gone by. And while the owner has changed, the function has not – today, a visitor to the building will find here China Merchants Bank.
While the buildings on the Bund may appear to be similar, on closer inspection we have seen that they are not. Likewise with their personal histories – each story is different from the last and this is especially true for our next stop.
Building No. 15, Russo-Chinese Bank, represents the first foreign bank to cooperate with the Qing Dynasty in the beginning of the 20th century. It is also one of the oldest buildings here that has remained unaltered. The building was completed in 1910; the bank, on the other hand, came from distant St. Petersburg, then the capital of Russia. Back then, France was a strong ally of Russia; it’s not surprising to learn that the bank was a joint venture, based on Russian and French capital. And looking at the geopolitical situation of the time, we find that Russia was growing ever more active in Northeast China. From these facts, it is easy to see their need for a proper bank, to keep things running smoothly. In 1895, Russo-Chinese Bank was established; one year later, they had their own branch office in Shanghai.
Originally, the bank operated from the Banque de l
’Indochine Building – again, keep in mind the good relations between France and Russia! As soon as their own building was complete in 1910, they relocated to the Building No. 15, the new Russo-Chinese Bank office.
At the time, Russia enjoyed considerable privileges in China – privileges that other western countries did not have. Having access to said privileges; Russo-Chinese Bank quickly outgrew most of their competitors, and was soon the second largest bank in China. But good times have a tendency not to last. In 1926, following unsuccessful transactions on the Parisian market, the bank went bankrupt and never recovered. The building, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the spirit of banking. In 1928, it became the new location of the Central Bank of the Republic of China. As the Central Bank of Taiwan, it still exists today, as after the communists rose to power in 1949, the bank fled to Taiwan.
Following the birth of the People’s Republic of China, the building has housed different companies. Today, we can find here the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and the Shanghai Foreign Exchange Trade System, both owned by the Central Bank of China.
The Bund, called “the Great Financial Wall of China, has presented us with views of Classicist and Neo-Renaissance buildings. Building No. 14, the Communication Building, is different – it is a marvel of Art Deco. It was completed only in 1948, one year before the political regime change, and is the newest building on the Bund. For a time, it housed one of the oldest banks in China – Bank of Communication. After the tumultuous 1940s, the business was split in two. One half sought sanctuary in Taiwan, along with the Kuomintang; the other half remained in continental China, and grew to be one of the largest banks in modern China, used for foreign investments made by the Chinese Government. Today, the building houses Bank of Shanghai on the two lower floors; the upper four belong to the Shanghai Council of Trade Unions.
Shanghai Stories TOP3: the Bund, Yuyuan Garden, Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse Page 2