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Lot Essay
A view of the central part of the Shanghai Bund with French, British and Chinese shipping on the Huangbu River, stretching from the premises of Augustine Heard beside the American flag on the left of the picture to the British consulate flying the red ensign on the far right, with the premises of Jardine, Matheson & Co to its immediate left, and with the red-painted Chinese Customs House (previously a temple) conspicuous to the left of centre. Just to the right of the Customs House can be seen the tower of the Episcopal Church, built in 1847 and later rebuilt as Trinity Cathedral.
Shanghai was opened up to western trade by the treaties which ended the Opium War in 1842 and 1843, and the Huangbu river frontage evolved quickly from a path to a pallisaded embankment, with the British and French leading the developments and the consulates and large trading houses such as Dent & Co., Russell & Co., Augustine Heard & Co., Jardine Matheson & Co. establishing their premises along the embankment. These first structures survived until the early 20th century when they were replaced with new buildings in the 1920s and 30s, some of which survive on the Bund to this day. These now face the Pudong New Area on the east side of the river, countryside and farmland until the massive development which began in the 1990s and which now sees it as Shanghai's commercial and financial centre.
Shanghai was opened up to western trade by the treaties which ended the Opium War in 1842 and 1843, and the Huangbu river frontage evolved quickly from a path to a pallisaded embankment, with the British and French leading the developments and the consulates and large trading houses such as Dent & Co., Russell & Co., Augustine Heard & Co., Jardine Matheson & Co. establishing their premises along the embankment. These first structures survived until the early 20th century when they were replaced with new buildings in the 1920s and 30s, some of which survive on the Bund to this day. These now face the Pudong New Area on the east side of the river, countryside and farmland until the massive development which began in the 1990s and which now sees it as Shanghai's commercial and financial centre.