Michael Blumenthal, former United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Jimmy Carter, fled with his parents from Germany to Shanghai in 1939. Revisiting the city, he came to Hongkou and found his family’s old house; more to his surprise, their old furniture was displayed in the exhibition area of the Moses Synagogue. He remarked happily that they had been very well preserved, as they seemed little different from the time of his arrival in Shanghai. Hongkou, Noah’s Ark for these Jewish refugees, no doubt reawakens many childhood memories.

1933 Old Millfun

A former slaughter house built in 1933 was actually designed by a British architect. Located at the juncture of the Hongkou and Shajing harbors and opposite the North Bund, this architectural jewel is a sublime fusion of style and industrial purpose. The structure is square outside and round inside; its mezzanine floors are connected by a maze of level or inclining corridors zigzagging in different directions. There are also spiral staircases that allow the passage of only one person at a time.

In October 2005, the building was listed as an historic masterpiece of architecture and put under the municipal protection program. In August 2006, the Shanghai Municipal Economic Commission authorized the establishment of the Shanghai creative industry zone using this facility, which breathed new life into this old abattoir. Its rebirth as an art enclave started in 2007, and today the 1933 Old Millfun leads Shanghai in new fashion releases, creative design, brand design, cultural information and creative recreation.

The Water Gateway of Shanghai

The North Bund overlooks the Bund across the Suzhou River and faces the Lujiazui financial district across the Huangpu River.

In 2002, the municipal government kicked off a comprehensive development program for both sides of the Huangpu River, and Hongkou District, as part of the program, launched the construction of the North Bund as a key project aimed to upgrade the district’s status in China’s shipping industry. The development of the North Bund benefited further from the 2009 decision of the State Council to accelerate the speed of Shanghai’s transformation into a global financial and navigational center. Today the North Bund provides as fine navigational facilities and services as any top-drawer port on the mainland.

The site of the North Bund itself has a rich history. One of the earliest areas opened to foreigners, by 1845 the British East India Company had built its wharf here, and in 1866 an ocean liner belonging to the British Blue Chimney shipping company anchored at the Hongkou Harbor, marking the inauguration of Shanghai as an international navigation destination. Later more foreign-owned wharfs cropped up in the area, and foreign cruisers and cargo ships were commonly docked here. Following behind their traders, the governments of Austria, Spain, the U.S., Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Japan and Russia set up their consulates on Huangpu Road.

Many living testimonies to that period of history are obvious today in the North Bund area – Broadway Mansions Hotel, the General Post Office Building, Pujiang Hotel, the Russian Consulate, Gaoyang Hotel, and many more lesser known edifices. On top of Broadway Mansions Hotel one is treated to a classic view of Shanghai – something that resembles a traditional ink-and-wash painting when, in the morning glow, the hotel casts its shadow over the silhouette of the Waibaidu Bridge. Richard’s Hotel and Restaurant, the predecessor of Pujiang Hotel, was the first modern hotel in China. Its “Peacock Hall” was the best known ballroom in the Far East of the 19th century. Guests Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and Zhou Enlai graced the hotel corridors, diningroom and bar.

Shanghai has the most stunning night vistas of any mainland city, when its light-framed buildings and rivers glisten with a rainbow of colors. Lying on my hotel bed on the Bund, I could see the busy, illuminated streets of Lujiazui under the Oriental Pearl Tower. The North Bund had also donned a gorgeous evening gown, and in no time the “water drop” – Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal – and the attached Baiyulan Square will add two more dazzling gems.

Many visitors to the North Bund know not to miss the chance to see the Waibaidu Bridge, an icon featured in almost every film shot in Shanghai. Today it demarcates the Bund and North Bund but Jewish refugees entered Hongkou via this bridge and it is ubiquitous as a symbol of the city and everything it stands for.

Big cruise ships anchored at the North Bund also make a big impression on visitors. Now more a vehicle for luxury tours than an essential means of long-distance travel, the liners are popular with tourists. Costa Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, MSC Cruises and Star Cruises have set up offices in Hongkou. Last year the North Bund accommodated 150,000 international travelers, and not long ago the district made news when four international cruisers docked at the same time – headlines clarified it was the first time ever in Shanghai. An unprecedented daily flow of 10,000 international cruise passengers was recorded.

Sun Weiguo, secretary of the CPC Hongkou District Committee, said that they used the first decade of the century to develop the North Bund to its present level and were confident the foundation was in place to upgrade it to another, heavier navigational standard in the matter of another decade.

The North Bund is a living painting; cruisers sail in and out, and people of different complexions and costumes come and go against an ever-changing backdrop of a