The Bund to the North Bund over Garden Bridge: a walk in Shanghai

Walk north along the Bund past the 1927 Custom House and the Peace Hotel, through the Rockbund lanes of Waitanyuan and Huangpu Park, then cross the 1908 Garden Bridge (Waibaidu) into Hongkou and follow the quieter North Bund riverside to the cruise terminal. Built from the official Shanghai routes that link Waitanyuan, Broadway Mansions and the North Bund riverside.

Best time: Early morning: before 6 am the Bund is quiet and locals watch the sunrise over Lujiazui; or after dark when the buildings are lit.

The route, stop by stop

1
Custom House
1927 customs building with the clock tower, still a customs house; next to the HSBC Building. 10 min
Built in 1927 and still a customs house, its clock tower was modelled on Big Ben. That's Shanghai notes that in the 1920s customs revenue was half of the Chinese government's…
2
Fairmont Peace Hotel (Sassoon House)
North building completed in 1929 as Sassoon House (the Cathay Hotel); the south building across Nanjing Road dates from 1908. 15 min
Built in 1929 by Sir Victor Sassoon as Sassoon House with the Cathay Hotel inside, it is the green-pyramid-roofed Art Deco icon of the Bund. Lonely Planet says it was restored to…
3
Rockbund Art Museum
Contemporary art in the 1933 former Royal Asiatic Society building on Huqiu Road, heart of the Waitanyuan (Origin of the Bund) block. 20 min
Contemporary art in the 1933 Art Deco building of the Royal Asiatic Society, which once held one of China's first modern museums. It sits in the restored Waitanyuan (Source of…
4
Huangpu Park
Shanghai's oldest and smallest park (first laid out 1886) with the Monument to the People's Heroes; a sunrise spot where Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu. 15 min
5
Waibaidu Bridge (Garden Bridge)
The Garden Bridge, opened 1908, China's first all-steel bridge and its only surviving camelback truss bridge; lit at night. 10 min
The steel truss bridge at the mouth of Suzhou Creek, one of only three bridges in central Shanghai listed as excellent historical buildings. Its name recalls the toll-free…
6
Broadway Mansions
Art Deco tower completed in 1934 by Palmer and Turner, now a hotel, at the Hongkou end of the bridge; look back at the Bund from here. 5 min
7
Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal
North Bund riverside: quieter than the Bund, with the Bund and Lujiazui skylines in one frame from the riverside walkway. 20 min

Walking directions

The Bund to the North Bund over Garden Bridge

The route, stop by stop

More walks in Shanghai