Ever heard of a building described as the most luxurious between the Suez Canal and the Bering Strait? That’s the Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building for you. Today it houses the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. But its story is much richer than that.
The Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building stands at number 12, the Bund. It is a six-floor neo-classical building. The British architecture firm Palmer & Turner Architects and Surveyors designed it. Its construction spanned from May 5, 1921, to June 23, 1923.
Originally, this was the Shanghai branch headquarters of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1923 to 1955. HSBC first opened its Shanghai branch in 1865. It was located on the ground floor of the Central Hotel.
By 1874, HSBC had outgrown its premises. The bank purchased the Foreign Club at number 12, the Bund. The price was 60,000 taels of silver. In 1912, HSBC acquired numbers 10 and 11. Then, construction of the new building began.
Contemporary reports say the bank hired feng shui masters. They selected the time and direction of the first excavation. Coins from around the world were buried in the foundations. This was done in accordance with Chinese tradition. Special coins were placed in dark recesses. This was to ward off spirits. The building covers 1.3 hectares. It has an area of 23,415 square meters.
The Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building boasts a strict neo-classicist design. It features a tripartite vertical and horizontal division. A dome sits in the center. It has a triangular structure imitating Greek temples. Six Ionic columns rise from the second to fourth stories. The main structure has five stories. The central section has seven. There is also a basement level. The structure is steel lattice with brick filling. The exterior is granite.
Inside, luxurious materials like marble and monel were used. The building had heating and air-conditioning. The main trading hall features four marble columns. These were hewn from whole blocks. This was unique in Asia at the time. A subsidiary building behind the main one housed offices, safes, and vaults.
During World War II, the Japanese Yokohama Specie Bank occupied the Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building. HSBC moved back after the war. The Communists took over Shanghai in 1949. HSBC continued operating for a while. By 1955, the political climate led the bank to scale down. The building was handed over to the government. The Shanghai Municipal Government moved in. Its name changed to “Municipal Government Building”.
In 1990, the Municipal Government began moving out. HSBC negotiated to repurchase the building. However, negotiations failed due to price. In 1995, the SPD Bank leased the Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building. Renovations uncovered spectacular murals.
Two bronze lions once stood guard outside. They were commissioned from the United Kingdom. J W Singer & Sons cast them in Frome, England. Henry Poole RA designed them. One lion roars symbolizing protection. The other is calm symbolizing security. They were nicknamed Stephen and Stitt. These were after A G Stephen and G H Stitt.
During the war, the Japanese removed the lions. They were to be melted down. However, they were saved and restored after the war. During the Cultural Revolution in 1966 they were removed again. They were stored in a warehouse. In 1980, they went to the Shanghai Museum. In 1997, replicas were placed in front of the Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building.
Near the ceiling of the entrance hall were eight mosaic murals. They were covered in stucco and paint in 1956 to save them. In 1997, the mosaics were rediscovered. The SPD Bank restored them. They changed the HSBC emblems to SPD Bank emblems.
The eight murals depicted cities with HSBC branches. Each featured a mythological figure. They were supported by personifications of local rivers and the city. City scenery was in the background. Shanghai’s mural featured Mazu. It also featured figures for the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. The HSBC building and Customs House were also depicted. The bases showed merchant ensigns of the Qing Dynasty and the United Kingdom.
So, the next time you pass the Former American Oriental Banking Corporation Building remember its journey. It went from a bank headquarters to a government building. Now it is a bank again. It is filled with history and art.