Old Bank of China Building, Shanghai

The Old Bank of China Building is one of the tallest historic structures on the Bund. Its somewhat stunted appearance is commonly attributed to Victor Sassoon, owner of the neighboring Sassoon House, who reportedly insisted that no other building on the Bund should rise higher than his.

The building stands at No. 23 on the Bund, on the site of the former German Club. It was designed jointly by the Shanghai-based firm Palmer & Turner and the Bank of China’s chief architect, Lu Qianshou. Construction began after the foundation stone was laid in 1936, and the building was completed in 1937.

Political upheaval and the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War delayed the Bank of China’s move into the building until 1946. The structure has about 50,000 square meters of floor space and 17 floors, including two underground levels. Its design combines modern Art Deco massing with traditional Chinese elements, including a Chinese-style roof, decorative brackets, lattice windows, and smooth Jinshan stone cladding.

The Old Bank of China Building is especially notable as one of the first major Chinese-owned and Chinese-financed buildings on the Bund, an area otherwise dominated by foreign banks, clubs, and trading houses. Today, the building continues to serve as offices for the Bank of China, including its Shanghai Branch.