|
Peter Hibbard, alias The Ginger Griffin, has a unique knowledge of the history of Shanghai based on over 20 years of research and professional involvement with the Chinese travel industry. He offers a very personal insight into the secrets of his home city that cannot be experienced on other tours - and has escorted many of the world's top business leaders around Shanghai. Peter trained as an urban planner and sociologist and is the pre-eminent authority on the history of travel and tourism in China. He has written extensively on his interests. Amongst other publications, he is the author of the Odyssey Guide to Shanghai (now combined with Beijing) and his new Odyssey book, The Bund Shanghai: China Faces West, is due for release in the USA in autumn 2007.
|
SAINTS AND SINNERS - THE BUND AND BEYOND
The essential Shanghai historical orientation walking tour begins at the historic Astor House Hotel, which in itself, tells the story of Shanghai's past, present and future. The surrounding district was originally designated as an American settlement, was home to numerous foreign Consulates and latterly played host to Shanghai's large Japanese community. Crossing Suzhou Creek we enter a fascinating neighbourhood behind the Bund that sustained a curious mix of missionary and commercial activity before 1949. Today, the 'Waitanyuan' area is being redeveloped as a major upscale commercial and residential district. It houses some of the most revolutionary architecture of its time and includes a typical 1920s residential lane development - where once single family homes are now occupied by many. On the Bund a stop is made at the former Cathay Hotel, now Peace Hotel, to discover the secrets behind Sir Victor Sassoon's landmark creation. It's then off for a stroll along the Bund, where each building tells its own remarkable story, and a visit to the palatial former Hongkong & Shanghai Bank. The bank, dating from 1923, with its huge facade of Hong Kong granite and its delicate Venetian mosaic interior, presents a stunning contrast to the hotel - even though it was designed by the same British architect. The tour continues behind the Bund to visit a magnificently decorated building that miraculously survived the Cultural Revolution and a wealthy Chinese merchant's house featuring a unique mix of Western and Chinese style.
The walk takes around three hours
|