The Bund, Shanghai

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Im not exactly sure why they call it this, because you dont get to see any sights on the tunnel ride! Its really just a tunnel under the river with a light show, the whole ride probably lasts for about 5 minutes tops and it is indeed a rip-off!!! BUT ... most tourists to Shanghai will still do it, as we did!

Entrance and return ticket costs 50rmb = about $9AUD, and when you compare that to a return subway ticket costing 6rmb, you can see why it is slightly over-priced! I will say though that the light show is kinda spectacular, weird and tacky, all at the same time. I did take some pics which turned out ok, but still which dont give the full effect of the lights. The tunnel comes out at Pudong, very close to the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the entrance on the Bund side is very close to the Peace Hotel. If you walk down Nanjing Road towards the Bund, you simply cant miss the brown signs to the "Bund Sightseeing Tunnel".

You can almost see Shanghai's history by walking down the bund. All these old buildings will remind you of Old Shanghai, while opposite across the Yangzi River, you see the most modern part of Shanghai. Actually it would be alot more beautiful to come here at night time.

At the northern end of the Bund is the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, a 647-metre tunnel under the Huangpu river and a psychedelic way of travelling between the Bund and Lujiazui. Glass capsules transport visitors through the tunnel, with strobe lighting, sound effects and surreal props! A single journey costs RMB40 while a return journey costs RMB50 (2009 prices).

This is quite a pleasant area to visit at night with the buildings all being lit up. A stroll along the river, or a river cruise are well worth it, even if you will need to dodge large numbers of would be watch salespeople.

The Bund sightseeing tunnel wasn't all that the brochure made it out to be but I suppose it was OK for value. I also thought I would be seeing water under the river......dumb!

Kids would love the ride through the tunnel the lights and colours were great (reminded me of the old hippie psychadelic trips - which I only saw on TV of course) and it was an OK experience.

It is a convenient way to get from one side of the river to the other but it would be cheaper to take a ferry,

A major activity for most tourists is to frequent the Bund at night.

Coming from Australia, it actually felt like Christmas Eve when Anne and I were standing on the Bund looking across the river. It was a warm and balmy night, there was a cool breeze coming off the water, the light show was spectacular and there were crowds of people just walking around, hand in hand, having a great time.

The light show across the river was amazing to watch and the older sandstone buildings of the Bund were lit in a beautiful way.

The only 2 disappointing things about the night were 1) The light turned off too early at 10pm and 2) The Children that were used to constantly pull at your arms and beg for money.

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The Bund Museum is located on the ground floor of the impressive 1907 Signal Tower building towards the southern end of The Bund. I didn’t realise at first that the building housed a museum and in fact it was the rooftop terrace that first attracted my attention to this building, presenting a great opportunity for some panoramic photographs of the Bund, the Hunagpu River and the Pudong skyline. It was only when I reached the entrance that I saw a small sign for the museum.

It is a small and modest museum and entrance is free.

In a dark wood-panelled room, with antique-looking furniture, you will find a host of photographs lining each of the walls. These photographs show the changing face of the Bund throughout the decades and are accompanied by brief text descriptions in both Mandarin and English.

The early photos show a mid-1800s Bund with just a handful of simple low-rise buildings besides the river. By the mid 1900s, the Bund had grown into a much more thriving place and the photos show it to have been a bustling trading post with hundreds of boats docked alongside it and crowds of people in the street.

In truth, there isn’t much to keep you here for very long. There are perhaps 30 or 40 photos and, even if you read the accompanying texts of each and every photo, you’ll be hard pressed to spend more than 15 or 20 minutes browsing.

However, once you have finished enjoying the photographs, climb the wooden spiral staircase and you will find yourself in a cosy little bar and restaurant (called “Atanu” – see separate tip). Take a further flight of steps out onto the rooftop terrace and enjoy a drink while marvelling at the bird’s eye view of the Bund.

A modest museum displaying a small selection of photos of the historic Bund. Worth a passing glance as you make your way upstairs for a drink and a live view of the modern Bund!

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The Bund is a row of buildings along the western shore of the Huangpu river that were built by the British during the early part of the 20th century. These buildings served as the headquarters of some of the most powerful trading companies in China. Many Americans will recognize the buildings from the movie "Empire of the Sun". Amazingly, these buildings survived the Cultural Revolution, and are still intact. You can't go into them, but they are still interesting to see, and the walk along the riverbank across the street from the Bund's buildings also gives you a great view of the modern skyscrapers across the river in the Pudong district.

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There is a tunnel connecting the two banks of the Huang Pu River - the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel. It is a great way to get across the Huangpu River if you are on any side of the river and want to go to the other.

Modern high technologies are applied in the decoration of the interior walls of the tunnel, providing the passengers with background music as well as pictures, patterns and views about people, history, culture, science and technology and natural scenery.

The Bund is the best-known landmark in Shanghai. On this stretch of Zhongshan Road East lies the most important buildings left from colonial Shanghai including the Peace Hotel, the Bank of China, and Shanghai Gold Exchange. Externally these buildings have been well preserved and stand proud in their original grandeur. Internally they have been renovated to house some major financial institutions as well as Shanghai's most expensive and luxurious hotels, restaurants and bars.