A Gothic mansion it seems. That’s the Former Zhongxing Bank Building. Right here on the Bund. Its pale gray facade hints at a rich history. This wasn’t always a site of luxury dining and shopping.
Before 1886 this very spot housed Russell & Co. Powerful American traders they were. Opium tea silk porcelain. They dealt in it all. Their headquarters this building was. British architects Morrison & Gratton designed it. A Romanesque colonnade graces its entrance. The original red brick is hidden now under later coatings.
In 1897 however a pivotal moment arrived. China’s first modern bank opened its doors here. The Imperial Bank of China it was called. Later renamed the China Commercial Bank. Minister Sheng Xuanhuai founded it. A visionary modernizer he was. He aimed to save China using Western technology. He even hired an Englishman from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank to manage it.
Five million taels of silver launched this venture. Wealthy Chinese officials deposited their savings. Loans flowed to factories like Hua Sing Flour Factory and Long Zhang Paper Making Factory. Bills printed in London circulated. Dragons adorned them. The British manager’s signature was on them.
Forgeries threatened the bank in 1903. Jobless Japanese men tried to replicate the notes. Panic ensued. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank helped avert disaster. It was China’s first case of forged bank notes.
The bank faced internal struggles too. Bureaucratic interference hampered its Western-style management. After the 1911 revolution the bank changed names again. The Commercial Bank of China it became. Private shareholders gained more power.
In the 1920s Shanghai gangsters took over. Du Yuesheng led the charge. Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek supported him. The building’s original interior is gone now. Renovations transformed it. A sleek venue it is now.
Despite the changes the Former Zhongxing Bank Building stands tall. It whispers tales of opium traders. It echoes with the ambitions of a modernizing China. It reminds us of a pivotal moment in Chinese banking history. A unique blend of past and present this structure is. Look closely. Observe its Gothic windows. The semi-circular segmental diminished and pointed arches. The designer’s fertile imagination. It all survived till today.