Chinese treaty ports and the Bund: a case of global colonial heritage?

Abstract Based on a literature review (concerning the Chinese case-studies) and on extensive previous research (on Eastern Mediterranean port-cities) [31], our paper questions the role of Chinese treaty ports. We discuss the case studied of Shanghai and Hankow and their bund as a shared urban/architectural feature. Finally, we argue that an examination of the similarities and differences between the Chinese treaty ports and 19th-century East-Mediterranean port-cities could provide a fruitful means of further understanding both realities. As a matter of fact, these port-cities faced similar processes of modernisation, in a supranational world characterized by an increasing commercialization of the economy under the impetus of foreign investments in production and transport. Currently, treaty ports are the main scenes of fast-paced urban development while, almost paradoxically, they are still featuring much 19th-century architectural and urban heritage (little is left instead of the complementary Chinese cities). At the same time, many scholars and planners argue that waterfronts express a plural identity, a sort of “liquid border” evoking a past that could usefully inspire visions for the future. By comparing Chinese treaty ports and their bunds to East Mediterranean ports and their 19th-century quays, we should perhaps consider that some waterfronts are a concrete evidence of a global colonial heritage, including both architecture and the urban form.