Shanghai Things to Do Tips by SWFC_Fan

The Bund Museum The Bund Review

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!

Address: 1907 Signal Tower, The Bund

Directions: Located on the ground floor of the 1907 Signal Tower towards the southern end of The Bund.