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Paul Moon

Paul Mooney

Wuhan is graced with old colonial architecture, providing a glimpse of the past

Hankou was a simple fishing village until 1861, when it was declared a treaty port as part of concessions forced on China following the Opium War. Five foreign concessions ? British, Russian, French, German and Japanese ? eventually stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the north bank of the Yangtze River.

The concessions were all closed down by 1927 but many fine examples of turn-of-the-century European architecture still grace the bund area along Yanjiang Dadao and the streets north of the bund. The Wuhan city government began to renovate many of these buildings in 2000.

This tour proceeds in a straight line along Yanjiang Dadao; just follow the building numbers. Some of the background information for this

section comes from Eric N. Danielson?s excellent The New Yangzi River Vol. III, The Three Gorges and the Upper Yangzi,  published by Times Ltd of Singapore.

Begin your tour at the former German consulate, which stands opposite the monument to the 1954 flood.

Former German Consulate

Intersection of Yanjiang Dadao and Yiyuan Road

There seems to be some confusion about the origin of this building. Chi Li writes in Old Wuhan that this was the former German consulate, but travel writer Danielson suggests that it was more likely the German concession administration building until the concession was shut down in 1918. In any case, today it is the headquarters of the Wuhan People?s Government.

Banque De L?Indo-chine

171 Yanjiang Dadao

This beautiful red-brick building with large arched windows is now the Victoreia (sic) Coffee Bar. A sign over the top of the building refers to it as Banque De L?Indo-chine, while a wall plaque identifies it in Chinese as the Eastern Huili Bank. The interior is cluttered but retains something of an old world flavour. It was built in 1917 as a branch of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank down the river in Shanghai.

Former American Consulate

1 Chezhan Road, at the corner of Yanjiang Dadao

The American consulate in Hankou was built in 1905 in the Baroque style. The red-brick structure has three towers of differing heights and shapes, giving it a sort of fortress-like appearance. It now serves as the Wuhan Human Resources Building.

Street Museum of Architecture

Intersection of Yanjiang Dadao and Lihuangpolu

The corner here is the starting point for tours of the Street Museum of Architecture (see walking map for names and locations of buildings). Finish your architectural tour along Yanjiang Dadao and if you have time return here and explore the buildings along this street.

Daosheng Bank and the Former Residence of Song Qingling

162 Yanjiang Dadao

Formerly the Russian Daosheng Bank, this three-storey yellow building was built in 1896. It became the home of Madame Song Qingling, the wife of Sun Yat-sen, in 1927, and the second floor houses a museum devoted to her. Large portraits of Madame Song and Sun hang at the entrance. The Wuhan Languang Art Museum is located on the first floor.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank

143 Yanjiang Dadao

This building was built in 1917 as a branch of Shanghai?s Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. With its beautiful detail and huge Roman columns, this bank is one of the most imposing European structures along the waterfront. Three large glass dome skylights brighten the lobby, and behind the counter sits a marble British coat of arms with a lion, horse and shield. The two lion statues at the entrance ? a trademark of the bank ? are new. This is today the China -Everbright Bank.

Asiatic Pacific Company

148 Yanjiang Dadao

This building was designed in 1924 as the office of Britain?s Asiatic Petroleum Corp.

National City Bank of New York

142 Yanjiang Dadao

This classical piece of architecture was completed in 1921. It has five floors and large columns. The name National City Bank of New York is still clearly readable over the entrance.

Nishin Shipping Co.

87 Yanjiang Dadao

Erected in 1913, this building formerly served as the office of the Nishin Kisen Kaisha (NKK).

Yokohama Syokin Bank

139 Yanjiang Dadao

This Japanese bank, designed by a British architect, was completed in 1925 in the old British concession. Six granite Roman columns grace the facade. This is now the home of the Hubei -International Trust Investment Co.

Customs House

Now the Wuhan Customs Building, this structure was previously known as the Jianghan Customs House. The building has imposing columns at its front and a clock tower topped by a flag of the People?s Republic of China. It was built in 1921 in the Renaissance style. In 1927, Wuhanese came here to protest the shooting of Chinese by a British sailor, an incident that spelled the end of the British concession later that year. A bronze statue to the right of the building shows five angry Wuhan residents launching an attack on the building. A cornerstone on the left-hand side carries the following information: ?Stone was laid by Sir Francis Aglen K.B.E. Inspector General of Customs on the 4th November 1922?. Two plaques marking the water levels of the 1931 and 1959 floods were lost during the renovation in 2000.

Riqing International Firm

On a corner north of the Customs House

This structure was built in the Renaissance style in 1913. It has a Byzantine-style tower on one corner. A sign on the building refers to it as the Riqing Shipping Co Office.

Jianghan Lu

When you reach the old Customs House, bear right until you reach Jianghan Street, better known now as the Pedestrian Walking Mall, or Buxing Jie in Chinese. This was once the boundary line between the Chinese city of Hankou and the concessions. Built in 1900, it was turned into a pedestrian mall in 2000 and now runs 1.2km. European architecture here is interspersed with fast food restaurants ? McDonald?s, KFC, Pizza Hut ? and international brand name shops.



Walk Through time