River view from The Bund

The Bund is a waterfront embankment area in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement.

For a century, the Bund has been one of the most recognizable symbols and the pride of Shanghai. The architecture along the Bund is a living museum of the colonial history of the 1800s. 

I did the full The Bund walk of more than a mile along the main stretch of waterfront promenade, along the western bank of the Huangpu River. To the west of this stretch stand 52 buildings of various architectural styles, including Gothic, baroque, and neoclassical styles. It is often referred to as "the museum of buildings".

On the other side of the river you see the modern skyscrapers, giving you a distinctive contrast between modern life today, and the past. This is a truly amazing city of 24 million people, and home to the second tallest building in the world, 

On the left is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower which is the icon of Shanghai. In the left centre you see the Shanghai Tower which is a 632-metre, 128-story mega-tall skyscraper. The "Twisted Tower".  It shares the record of having the world's highest observation deck within a building or structure at 562 m, and the 2nd world's fastest elevators at a top speed of 20.5 metres per second. It was a major oversight that I did not allow time for a visit to the observation deck. 

On the right of the photo you can see some of the old buildings of The Bund.