Images of Modern Shanghai
October, 2008
An enduring image of Shanghai, the Bund is a collection of European-style buildings that housed major international business offices in the first half of the twentieth century. The twenty-five buildings on the Bund have been granted the protection of "heritage building" status by the Shanghai Municipal Government. Not all are currently open to the public, but several have been renovated as showcases for international gastronomy, leisure, and up-market retail.
The twenty-five buildings of the Bund at night. ---Credit - "Jhong". Used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Twenty-two buildings of the Bund with their original designations. ---Credit - Simon Fieldhouse. Used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
An interior corridor in the old Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company Building (No. 12 on the Bund). This corridor looks much the same way it did in the 1940's, but many of the interior renovations in other buildings on the Bund have not respected the architectural past. Arguments now rage over what guidelines should be imposed in the renovations of "heritage buildings."---Credit - J. Baillieul.
The Peace Hotel (formerly the Cathay Hotel) with its pyramid tower and the former Bank of China (right). The Cathay Hotel was a major center of social life in colonial Shanghai. It is now being resotred and at this writing is not open to the public.
Just as the Bund is the standard iconic depiction of Shanghai before 1990, the futuristic urban skyline of Pudong is the signature image of twenty-first century Shanghai. It is the venue of CDC/CCC 2009.
A gray and cloudy day. The Oriental Pearl Radio Tower and the Shanghai International Convention Center (foreground) emphasize spaces enclosed by spheres.
The Shanghai International Convention Center, venue of CDC/CCC 2009, at night.
The drive into Shanghai from the new multibillion dollar Pudong International Airport takes you past the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre and the above sculpture at the adjacent rotary.
For several years, the Jin Mao tower (left) was the tallest structure in Pudong. It houses the Shanghai Grand Hyatt. As of this year (2008), the Jin Mao tower is dwarfed by its new neighbor, the 101 story World Financial Centre---currently the world's tallest building.
Open space is important to Shanghainese, as the locals call themselves. An oasis of tranquility in the ever-hustling Shanghai is People's Square.
Two towers seen through the leaf-bare trees in People's Square. The much larger one on the left is the Marriott Executive Apartments, and the older shorter one to its right is the Shanghai Art Museum.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Many of the world's greatest museums are in or adjacent to People's Square. The Shanghai Museum has a gorgeous collection of Chinese antiquities and an excellent museum shop.
The atrium of the Shanghai Museum.
Many of the ancient ceramic pieces of the Shanghai Museum are more than a thousand years old.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
A beautifully preserved porcelain piece in the Shanghai Museum.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Just off People's Square is the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center where the visitor can glimpse what what the next decade of urban development may hold.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Inside the Urban Planning Exhibition Center is a scale model of the city. It occupies essentially the entire third floor and is the world's largest diorama of its kind.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
In much of the former French Concession, one has a feeling of being in Europe.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Bicyclists on a quiet street in the former French Concession.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
The Ruijin Hotel, which sits on the beautifully maintained former H.E. Morris Estate. Now a $400 per night hotel, it is the residence from which Mao's widow Jiang Qing directed the Cultural revolution.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Pat Baillieul under the arborway of the Ruijin Hotel.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Between the former French Concession and the Bund, one can walk through residential neighborhoods like this one. The houses are called shikumen. It was this architectural style that Boston architect Ben Wood tried to replicate in his design of Shanghai's Xin Tian Di shopping area.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
Part of the shopping area near the Yu Yuan Garden. Here one can bye souvenirs and recently manufactured antiques. The crown of the Westin Hotel is visible in the background.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
The author in one of the many shopping arcades near the Yu Yuan Garden.---Credit - H.O. Wang.
The Bridge of the Nine Turnings and the Hu Xin Ting Teahouse the near the Yu Yuan Garden. The turnings on the bridge are intended to help those crossing it to shed evil demons.
Designed by Boston architect Ben Wood, the urban mall Xin Tian Di recreates structures that look like the shikumen dwellings that are typical of Shanghai. It is an opulent tastefull enhancement of the restored meeting site of the First Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, located at 76 Xing Ye Lu.
The location of the secret first Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) has become a major tourist attraction. The building is representative of the shikumen style of residential Shanghai architecture that was prevalent in 1921 when the Congress met. The restored meeting site is probably a great deal more elegant than it was at the time of the 1921 meeting.
Looking out at the always busy Huangpu River at 6:00am on a Sunday. The picture is from a window in the Pudong Shangri-La hotel, one wing of the building being at the right. The opening and closing receptions of CDC/CCC 2009 will be held at the hotel.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
In nearby Zhujiajiao Town, one finds the 700 year old Animal Releasing Bridge. It commemorates the Buddhist custom of setting free captive animals.
A diorama recreating a soiree of the early twentieth century. One of many such remarkable creations in the Shanghai History Museum located in the base of the Oriental Pearl Radio Tower.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
The Oriental Pearl Radio Tower and Shanghai International Convention Center from across the Huangpu River on a sunny winter day. The building to the immediate right of the Radio Tower is the new Shanghai Customs House.---Credit - J. Baillieul.
The Radio Tower seen from inside one of the spheres of the Shanghai International Convention Center, the venue for CDC/CCC 2009.---Credit - J. Baillieul.