HSBC Building, Shanghai - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The HSBC Building is a six-floor neo-classical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

building in the Bund

The Bund

The Bund is a waterfront area in central Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District...

area of Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It was the headquarters of the Shanghai

Shanghai

branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1923 to 1955. The building is situated at number 12, the Bund

The Bund

. It is also known as the Municipal Government Building. Currently it houses the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. Ltd , incorporated on January 9, 1993 with the approval of the People's Bank of China , is a joint-stock commercial bank with its headquarters located in Shanghai....

. Construction began on 5 May 1921, and completed in 23 June 1923. This building was built in the style of neo-classicism

Neoclassical architecture

in China. It was designed by the British architecture firm, Palmer & Turner Architects and Surveyors.

Layout

The HSBC Building has been called "the most luxurious building from the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

to the Bering Strait

Bering Strait

The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...

". The building has a floor area of 23,415 m², and was, at the time, the largest bank building in the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

, and second largest in the world, after the Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland

The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...

building in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

.

The building exterior adopted a strict neo-classicist design, with a tripartite vertical and horizontal division. In the centre is a dome, the base decorated with a triangular structure in imitation of Greek temples. Below that are six Ionic

Ionic order

The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...

columns penetrating from the second to the fourth storey. The main structure is five storeys, the central section seven storeys, with one and a half storey for the basement. The main structure has a steel lattice with brick filling, and a granite exterior.

The interior was luxuriously decorated, using materials such as marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

and monel

Monel

Monel is a trademark of Special Metals Corporation for a series of nickel alloys, primarily composed of nickel and copper, with some iron and other trace elements. Monel was created by David H. Browne, chief metallurgist for International Nickel Co...

. The whole building was fitted with heating and air-conditioning. The main trading hall has four columns hewn from whole blocks of marble, which was at the time unique in Asia.

Behind the main building is a subsidiary building which houses bank offices, safes, and vaults.

History

On 4 March 1865, HSBC opened its Shanghai

Shanghai

branch on the ground floor of the Central Hotel (now Peace Hotel

Peace Hotel

The Peace Hotel is a hotel on The Bund in Shanghai, China which overlooks the Huangpu River. The hotel today operates as two separate businesses. The North Building, built as Sassoon House, originally housed the Cathay Hotel and is today the Fairmont Peace Hotel run by Fairmont Hotel and Resorts...

) on the corner of the Bund

The Bund

with Nanjing Road.

By 1874, HSBC's business had grown so much that the existing premises was becoming cramped. The bank then purchased the Foreign Club, a three storey building at number 12, the Bund, south of the Customs House

Customs House, Shanghai

The Customs House is an eight storey building on the Bund, Shanghai. Built in 1927, the building remains a customs house today. Together with the neighbouring HSBC Building, the Customs House is seen as one of the symbols of the Bund and Shanghai.-History:The Shanghai Customs House was first set...

, for 60,000 tael

Tael

Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....

s of silver.

In 1912, the bank made further acquisitions at number 10 and number 11, the Bund, and began construction of the new building. Construction began on 5 May 1921, with the dome capped off on 23 June 1923. According to contemporary press reports, at the time of construction the bank hired feng shui

Feng shui

Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....

masters to select the time and direction of the first excavation. In accordance with Chinese tradition, coins from around the world were buried in the foundations. Specially minted coins were placed in dark recesses of the building to ward off spirits. The construction took 25 months, and the completed building occupied 1.3 hectares, with an area of 23,415 m². The architect's firm, Palmer & Turner, also designed numerous other buildings on the Bund

The Bund

including the Yokohama Specie Building, Yangtze Insurance Building

Yangtze Insurance Building

The Yangtze Insurance is a 7 floor building in Shanghai and was completed from 1920s. It was built by architects P & T Architects Limited .-References:*...

, and Bank of China Building

Old Bank of China Building, Shanghai

The Bank of China Building is a tower located at No. 23 on the Bund, in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Previously the headquarters of the Bank of China, it now houses the Shanghai Branch of the Bank of China....

During the Second World War, the HSBC building was occupied by the Japanese Yokohama Specie Bank

Yokohama Specie Bank

is a Japanese bank founded in Yokohama, Japan in the year 1880. It later became The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. in 1947. The bank played a significant role in Japanese trade with China...

. HSBC moved back at the end of the war.

The Communists

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

took over Shanghai

Shanghai

in 1949. HSBC continued to operate in the relative freedom of the early years of the People's Republic

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. However, in 1955 the political situation led the bank to scale down its operations in Shanghai. The building was handed over to the government, and HSBC rented separate offices nearby. Later in that year, the Shanghai Municipal Government moved into the building. The building's name was changed to "The People's Government of the Municipality of Shanghai Building", or "Municipal Government Building" for short. The subsidiary building housed the Municipal Archives from 1956.

In 1990, the Municipal Government began moving civic institutions out of the Bund

The Bund

in favour of commercial institutions. HSBC made contact with the Municipal Government on repurchasing the building, but negotiations failed due to price reasons.

In 1995, the Municipal Government moved out of the building, and the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank

obtained the lease to the building. During renovations, spectacular murals were uncovered in the building. HSBC's Chinese office is currently headquartered at HSBC Building, Shanghai IFC.

Bronze Lions

The bank commissioned two bronze lions from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

at the time of construction, to be placed outside the front doors flanking the entrance staircase. They were cast by J W Singer & Sons in the English town of Frome

Frome

Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...

, to a design by Henry Poole RA

Henry Poole (sculptor)

Henry Poole RA was a British architectural sculptor.He studied at the Lambeth School of Art in 1888; and from 26 January 1892 under Harry Bates ARA and George Frederic Watts RA at the Royal Academy Schools. Poole was elected ARA 22 April 1920 and became a full RA in 1927, shortly before his death...

,. One of the lions is depicted roaring, to symbolise protection, the other is calm, and symbolises security. Affectionately nicknamed Stephen and Stitt, (after A G Stephen, once Manager Shanghai and the driving force behind the construction of the building, and by then the Bank's Chief Manager; and G H Stitt, Stephen's successor as Manager Shanghai, and the incumbent when the building was opened on 23 June 1923). An in-joke: Stephen's was said to be the louder character, Stitt the quieter man.

These lions were the inspiration for a second and much larger pair to a completely new design by Shanghai-based British Sculptor W W Wagstaffe that were commissioned for the Bank's new Headquarters in Hong Kong, opened in 1935. This second pair of lions was cast in Shanghai.

During the wartime occupation of Shanghai, the lions were removed by the Japanese to be melted down for their valuable bronze, but they escaped this fate and were restored after the end of the war. They were removed once again in 1966, during the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

. The Shanghai Artefact Administration Board stored the lions in the warehouse of the Shanghai Comedy Troupe. In 1980 they were handed over to the Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum

The Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, People's Republic of China.-History:...

where they are on display today. In 1997, when the Pudong Development Bank moved into the building, replicas were made and placed in front of the building.

Dome mosaics

Near the ceiling of the octagonal entrance hall of the bank building were originally eight mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

murals. The dome was decorated with frescos depicting the twelve signs of the zodiac, as well personifications of the Sun and Moon. An enterprising architect had the mosaics covered over in stucco and paint to save them from destruction during the Cultural revolution. Red Guards intent on the mosaics' destruction initially wanted to chip away the mosaics' tiles. The architect suggested it would take less work to just cover them up, knowing full well it would preserve the artwork. In 1997, renovations uncovered them. The Pudong Development Bank then funded the restoration, but changed the HSBC emblems in the paintings to the Pudong Development Bank emblem.

The eight murals depicted eight cities in which HSBC had branches: Shanghai

Shanghai

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, and Calcutta. Each fresco featured a principal mythological figure, supported by personifications of local rivers and the city, with city scenery in the background.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Layout

History

Bronze Lions

Dome mosaics

See also

External links