Former British Consulate (Nos. 33-53)

This large, sprawling compound with the two stately gray and tan granite buildings was the former British Consulate, first established here in 1852 after the British victory in the Opium War of 1842, and rebuilt in 1873. From this perch at the top of the Bund, the British oversaw the growth and development of Shanghai into an economic powerhouse in the first half of the 20th century. There were other consulate buildings here, but none remain. Today's compound, also enclosing the early English Gothic-style former Union Church (originally built in 1886, and given a complete face-lift in 2010) and neighboring hall, are currently managed by the Peninsula Hotel just to the south, itself newly built and opened in 2010. At press time, the former British Consulate buildings were being used to receive official guests for the World Expo, with future plans for it yet uncertain.

Follow the curve of Nan Suzhou Lu north, noting across the street on the south shore of Suzhou Creek the only remaining building of the Shanghai Rowing Club, built in 1904. Take a left (south)