This is Shanghai's famous waterfront and has been it's symbol for hundreds of years. The Bund became the site of some of the earliest foreign settlements after Shanghai was opened as one of five "Treaty Ports" in the Treaty of Nanjing that ended the Opium War in 1842. Shanghai grew rapidly as the economic center of foreign trade. There are 24 major buildings which haven't changed much since the 1930s. All were built in 17 different western styles (including classical, Gothic, renaissance, eclectic and modern). The Bund has been called a 'museum of international architecture,' and indeed it still is. It's now full of international banks, hotels, international headquarters etc.