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Bund's abundant history

THERE are many documentaries trying to explore the origin, culture, texture and history of Shanghai, but few of them have shown the vicissitudes of the city from the unique perspective of the Bund, a witness to the city's prosperity, trauma and renaissance.

Unlike its former film version focusing on several human stories, the documentary TV series "The Bund" is a more vivid and complete chronicle of the Bund, from its beginning as a muddy foreshore to its cosmopolitan reinvention.

It took Shanghai Media Group about 550 days and 16 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to make the film and the documentary series, the biggest-ever local project for a historical documentary.

This week, the five-episode TV series is being aired on the Shanghai Documentary Channel every day at 8:30pm. It is also expected to be aired on major foreign television channels worldwide such as the Discovery Channel next year.

The series starts with short interviews of people from all walks of life - scholars, writers, migrant workers, expats and artists. Each of them gives a short but straightforward interpretation of the Bund.

The Bund's monumental edifices in Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Beaux-Arts and Art Deco styles seem to be another preface to the documentary and viewers will learn that what makes this architecture breathe are human beings.

The series depicts the lives of many noted individuals related to the Bund, particularly during the vibrant 1920s and 1930s when the Bund was considered a paradise of adventure.

Viewers will see the patriotism and unyieldingness of Shanghai Green Gang gangster Du Yuesheng facing Japan's military intrusion in the 1930-1940s, the strong heart of Chinese actress Zhou Xuan, and the loneliness of the millionaire Victor Sassoon who built Sassoon House (now the Peace Hotel) - the first high-rise building in the city.

The documentary has interviewed more than 100 historians, celebrities and scholars. Many historical scenes and remarkable events are also reproduced with digital 3D shots, stunts and acting. The last episode focuses on the current role of the Bund and provides hopes and aspirations for its future development. Time passing, something changed while something remains unchanged at the Bund. In the words of historian Benedetto Croce, "All history is contemporary history." The future of the Bund might be both familiar and unusual. Only time can tell.




 

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