This unlikely art deco hotspot is a must-visit in Asia

Seven Wonders of the Bund, Shanghai, China

With its heritage-listed art deco architecture and rich colonial history, the former British Concession on the west bank of Shanghai’s Huangpu River is an open-air museum.

1 Walk over Waibaidu Bridge

Straddling the Suzhou Creek near the confluence of the Huangpu River, this steely grey, truss bridge was built in 1907 by the same British firm who completed the Victoria Falls Bridge over Africa’s Zambezi River a year earlier. It has been recognised by the city as a heritage structure since 1994. Stand in its centre to snap selfies with Shanghai’s futuristic Pudong skyline, but don’t forget to get up-close to admire its structural nuts, bolts and rivets.

2 Check out The Bund Historical Museum

Venture inside the Monument to the People’s Heroes in Huangpu Park to brush up on the history of the Bund through photos, maps, videos and timelines in this small but well-executed museum. Trace its phases from muddy riverbank to international trading port following the First Opium War in 1843, to an epicentre of culture and prosperity in the 1920s and ’30s as the “Wall Street of the Far East”. The 22 most notable buildings are detailed within.

3 See mosaics inside Shanghai Pudong Bank

Built in 1923, the former HSBC Building is one of the few on the Bund that you can enter. Friendly security guards might direct you to snap a photo of the skyline opposite, as it is framed under the exterior arch, and then into the main lobby, which features an octagonal hall and a soaring interior dome with colourful, restored mosaics. The ornate works include a centrepiece depicting the Greek sun and moon gods, and eight surrounding side panels representing the cities where HSBC had international branches, including Paris and Calcutta.

4 Admire the clock at the Custom House

With its four-faced “Big Ching” clock tower and grand columns, this eight-storey neoclassical building is one of the Bund’s most iconic. Established in the 17th century during the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in 1927, the space still functions as a customs house. Its crowning 90-metre-tall clock tower was inspired by London’s Big Ben, although the bell has been “silent” since 2018. A peek inside is free but requires a reservation via WeChat. Ask your guide.

5 Listen to jazz at the Peace Hotel

The art deco hotel where Charlie Chaplin once slept was completed in 1929 and rebranded in 2010 as a Fairmont hotel after multi-million dollar renovations, which involved restorations to some of its most impressive features, including the stained-glass atrium dome in the lobby. Watch live jazz daily between 7pm and 11.30pm in the Old Jazz Bar. The six-member band won a Guiness World Record in 2005 as the oldest performing jazz band in the world – the current average age of its members is 82.

6 Find (but don’t ride) the Bund Bull

Shanghai’s answer to Wall Street’s Charging Bull has been seeing red since its installation in 2010 in the Bund Financial District. Italian artist Arturo Di Modica is responsible for both sculptures, although the Manhattan icon was illegally installed Banksy-style in 1989. The bronze Shanghai iteration was commissioned and has a reddish tint with testicles that could stop traffic.

7 Spot the red-brick ancient Roman-style building

The Bund’s most unassuming beauty is a rarity on this mostly uniform grey-stone 1.5-kilometre European strip. Designed in Victorian red-brick style, the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company Building – or No. 9, as it is referred to – was constructed in 1901 with classical Roman details such as porticoes, archways and pediments on the roof. The three-storey building looks more like a mansion.

The writer travelled as a guest of W Shanghai, The Bund. See marriott.com