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Saturday, January 4, 2025
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Former Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank
12 Zhongshan Dongyi Lu
Shanghai
Shanghai & Around
China
Type: Architectural Interest
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Shanghai
Shanghai & Around
China
Type: Architectural Interest
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
For many, this is the finest piece of architecture along the Bund and is well Worth a closer look. The building currently houses the Pudong Development Bank, but was originally built by the British in 1921 as the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank. The architects (Palmer & Turner) were given a singular directive for their design – to dominate the skyline of the Bund.
But little did they know that less than 100 years later Pudong would get to dominate the skyline from the Bund! In 1949 the bank was closed and the building was used as Communist party offices. Its dome was painted over in thick white paint to conceal the ‘inappropriate’ mosaics.
They remained covered throughout the Cultural Revolution and were consequently ignored by the Red Guards and forgotten in later years, only being rediscovered in 1997. You can visit the inside of the building during office hours and see these Italian mosaics dating back to the 1920s and depicting scenes from all cities around the globe that housed a Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank at that time.
Bangkok, Calcutta, Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo are all represented, with the Roman goddess of abundance, Ceres, set in the center of them all.
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