In front of you are two of the most famous buildings on the Bund, Shanghai's waterfront. The word “bund” comes from Hindi and, in British India, meant an embankment or quay: here it was the riverbank where ships were loaded and unloaded.

1The domed bank

The building on the left, with its great dome, was built between 1921 and 1923 for the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, HSBC. It was designed by the firm Palmer and Turner, and at the time it was said to be the finest building between the Suez Canal and the Bering Strait. In the entrance hall, eight mosaics showed cities where the bank had branches. In 1956 they were covered with plaster to protect them, and stayed hidden until a renovation in the 1990s.

From 1955 to 1995 the building was the seat of the city government; today it belongs to a Chinese bank.

2The Custom House clock

To its right is the Custom House, completed in 1927 by the same firm. Its clock was inspired by Big Ben and was for years the largest mechanical clock in Asia. Its chimes have changed with history: the Westminster Quarters, then “The East Is Red”, Westminster again and, since 2003, “The East Is Red” once more.

The two bronze lions at the entrance are replicas: the 1923 originals were removed in 1966 and are now kept in a museum.

3What to look for

  • The lions: one roars and the other rests. Notice how shiny their paws are.
  • The dome, visible all along the Bund.
  • The clock tower, striking the hours over the river.
Roaring bronze lion at the entrance to the old HSBC Building
One of the entrance lions, its paws rubbed shiny.

Documented

The bank was built between 1921 and 1923 and the Custom House completed in 1927, both by Palmer and Turner; the bank building housed the city government from 1955 to 1995.

Oral tradition

Rubbing the lions' paws is said to bring luck and money, which is why they gleam. It is a popular custom with no basis beyond tradition.

Sources and credits

Peter Hibbard, “The Bund Shanghai: China Faces West” (2007); HSBC History, “The Shanghai Building”; Shanghai heritage authorities, listings for the Bund buildings.

Photos:

  • The old HSBC Building with its dome and the Custom House clock tower, from the Bund promenade: Hermann Luyken, CC0.
  • Roaring bronze lion at the entrance to the old HSBC Building: Legolas1024, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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