20 Scenic Old Buildings in Shanghai

Author: Guo Changming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Visitors to Shanghai for tourism and sightseeing are often captivated by the exotic charm of the city's old architecture. The historic buildings along the Bund are mostly in the styles of official architecture from Western countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among them are the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in the Neoclassical style, the Shanghai Customs House in the Classical Revival style, and the Peace Hotel in the Art Deco style, as well as the Sino-Western hybrid Bank of China building. These reflect Shanghai's unique cultural characteristics as a meeting point of Eastern and Western cultures. Interestingly, in the old town not far from the Bund, one can find well-preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings from before the city's opening. The rising style can be seen in the Lotus Pavilion on the lake in Shanghai's Yu Garden. Most of Shanghai's high-rise apartments and hotels were built in the 1930s. For example, the Shanghai Building and the middle section of the Jinjiang Hotel feature Art Deco patterns and moldings. The International Hotel, built around the same time, still has carved decorative patterns but exhibits a more modernist style. Shanghai's modern cinemas, dance halls, and amusement parks mostly have a modern style. Those built earlier still follow a Western style, such as the Daxiang World Amusement Park. Meanwhile, places like the Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Ballroom have begun to move toward a modern style, though they still retain an Art Deco flair. The old Shanghai alleyways () are filled with a variety of British, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, French, Gothic, and modern-style garden residences, making Shanghai earn the nickname "a world architectural exhibition."