The Bund

If you were to take a postcard snapshot of Shanghai, The Bund is where you'd go.

Stately and taciturn, it comprises more than ten blocks of architectural relics from Shanghai's days as a treaty port. In its heyday, this riverside district was the city's commercial and financial center, home to foreign-owned banks, trading houses, luxury hotels and gentlemen's clubs.

For nearly four decades, much of it lay dormant as state-owned properties until 1999, when the opening of the restaurant M on the Bund sparked a real estate development renaissance.

Today, The Bund is home to some of Shanghai's poshest restaurants and nightclubs as well as some of its swankest hotels. The waterfront promenade is also a perennial favorite for casual strolls and photo opps.