Siheyuan starts from a better life

Chapter 950 The Bund 2
Since the beginning of this century, due to the development of architectural technology and the growth of economic strength, multi-story and high-rise buildings have appeared in various styles, such as the British classical style, British neoclassical style, British Renaissance style, Asia Building (formerly Shanghai Metallurgical Design Institute), Shanghai Club (now Dongfeng Hotel), HSBC Building (formerly SH Municipal People's Government Building), Qiahe Building (now Foreign Trade Bureau Building), French classical style, French large residential style, Gothic style, Baroque style, modern Western style, East Indian style, eclectic style, Chinese and Western style, etc., which are known as the "International Architecture Expo". Starting from the Waibaidu Bridge at the mouth of Suzhou River in the north and ending at Jinling East Road in the south, the total length is about 1700 meters. Whether you look far away or wander around, you can feel a strong, majestic, graceful and luxurious momentum.

The Bund was once the political, financial, commercial and cultural center of the Western powers in Shanghai. Most of the consulates of various countries were concentrated here, and the Bund was also the base camp of international financial capital in my country.

150 years ago, when the colonists set foot on the unfamiliar land of Shanghai, they took a fancy to this beach of the Huangpu River. Thus, after more than a hundred years of construction, this towpath, which was once trodden by boatmen and laborers, has become a place with tall buildings and bustling traffic. These buildings, which are a combination of classicism and modernism, have become the symbol of Shanghai.

After 1840, Shanghai was opened to the outside world as one of the five trading ports. In 1845, British colonialists seized the Bund and established the British Concession. In 1849, French colonists also seized the Bund and established the French Concession. From then until the early 20s, the Bund was occupied by the British Concession and the French Concession, and was called the "British Concession Bund" and the "French Bund" respectively.

The concession was like a sovereign area. The Western powers operated, managed and built the concession in their own way. The Bund became the earliest and most prosperous place in the concession. The early Bund was a center of foreign trade, with many foreign companies and prosperous trade. Since the late 19th century, many foreign and Chinese banks have been established on the Bund, which has become the "Financial Street" of Shanghai and is also known as the "Wall Street of the East". As a result, the Bund has become a "feng shui treasure land". Owning a piece of land on the Bund is not only a symbol of wealth, but also a symbol of reputation. After commercial banks and financial enterprises have a place on the Bund, they will start to build company buildings. Most of the buildings on the Bund have been rebuilt three or more times, and architects from various countries have shown their skills here.

It is said that there are more than 50 buildings of different styles here. In fact, this statement is quite inaccurate. It can be said that there are at least hundreds of buildings here, of which only 29 are the most famous. The leader said that two of the buildings are No. 9 and No. 14.

Building No. 9 was originally the building of the General Administration of Steamship Merchants, built in 1901. Sheng Xuanhuai invested 220 million taels of silver in it and hired a French designer to build it. It is currently an office building for a department.

No. 14, now the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions, was designed by Hongda Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. and built by Tao Fuji Construction Co. in 1948. It was the last building built in the Bund complex before the liberation of Shanghai. It is still the Shanghai Trade Union, but with the expansion of the trade union, this building can no longer meet the needs of office.

"No. 33 Bund Source can also be taken out. The maintenance cost is too high." The second-in-command next to him also interrupted.

No. 33 The Bund: This building, which is more than 120 years old, is the oldest modern building still preserved in the Shanghai Bund complex. Although parts of the building have been repaired and modified many times, the basic structure is still maintained. It is a witness to Shanghai's modern history. However, it does cost money to maintain it, otherwise the second-in-command of Shanghai would not have proposed to replace it.

After everyone discussed it, in addition to these buildings, they also took out five or six relatively well-preserved houses, such as the garden house along No. 16 Xinle Road and the English garden house at No. 40 Wukang Road, for exchange. If Jiang Yan knew about this, he would be absolutely delighted. Any one of these houses could be several small goals in the future, and the meaning contained in them is great.

However, even after they were able to come up with these, the replacement area was still not enough. At this time, Guo Peng, director of the Commerce Bureau, said: "Panshi Group also purchased land in Lujiazui. Otherwise, we should grant them more land."

Today, Lujiazui is still a wasteland, and not many people pay attention to the land there. They just talk about it briefly and nod and agree. Guo Peng needs to discuss the details.

He Yuzhu didn't know that Xu Damao was in Shanghai. If he had known, he would have gone to find him a long time ago. However, based on his personality, he wouldn't stay in Shanghai for long. After being away for more than two months, he was eager to return home.

He Yuzhu didn't tell anyone when he came back. He wanted to give his family a surprise. He only brought a small suitcase when he left, but when he came back he brought a lot of things, including four suitcases. It took him a lot of effort to get here.

However, he did not go home directly. Instead, he went to Xiaochang Chen in Dazhalan and had two delicious bowls of braised pork with lots of meat. After eating so many delicious foods for so long outside, to be honest, the meals at home were still the most to his taste, especially the braised pork. He would miss it if he didn't eat it for a while.

Suddenly he could feel what the boss had said before: Liangyuan is nice, but it is not his hometown.

To be honest, He Yuzhu was really fascinated by the prosperity of Tokyo, but after playing there, he was left with a more empty feeling. Everyone there was coming and going in a hurry, and everyone wore a hypocritical mask. To be honest, this made He Yuzhu very uncomfortable. Although his own city was not as good as Tokyo and had all kinds of filth, it was generally better than Tokyo. No wonder people said that these golden nests and silver nests were not as good as his own doghouse. From the moment he got off the plane, He Yuzhu felt refreshed all over and almost knelt down to kiss the ground.

After touching his slightly bulging belly and burping with satisfaction, he called a waiter at the door and had him and his luggage taken straight home. This guy was so eager to go home!
However, along the way, He Yuzhu also discovered the changes in Sijiu City. Apart from other things, there are now a lot more people doing business. Along the way, he saw many shops that have opened or are in the process of opening.

Without mentioning other things, just talking about Dazhalan, some of the eight buildings that had disappeared before have opened in the old location. He just saw the Zhimeilou that was preparing to open. Seeing this Zhimeilou, He Yuzhu couldn't help but shed tears at the corners of his mouth. The four kinds of live fish, bear paws with clouds, shark fins with three shreds, and longevity are its signature dishes. He had to try them to see what the difference is between this Zhimeilou and the previous ones.

He Yuzhu seemed so relaxed and contented as he hummed a little tune along the way. He didn't even hear the greeting from the third uncle Yan Bugui who came back from fishing and greeted him. It can be said that this guy was completely immersed in his own world.

(End of this chapter)