Beneficial Bank former location, A Baroque Masterpiece on the Bund
4 Zhongshan East 1st Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai (near Guangdong Road)
4.1
Introduction
The Youli Building is located at No. 4 Zhongshan East Road on the Bund. Originally the property of the Thé et Cie (Tientsin) Ltd., the building was built in 1860 and was a three-story brick-and-wood structure. After a reconstruction in 1916, it became the building we see today.
Thé et Cie (Tientsin) Ltd. was founded by British businessmen Adamson and Bell, mainly engaged in import and export trade and insurance business. As business expanded, the original building was no longer sufficient, and new buildings were erected on both sides, making the old building look even more outdated. However, the Thé et Cie (Tientsin) Ltd. at the time was unable to allocate enough funds to build a new building, so it joined forces with several other foreign companies to jointly invest in the construction of a new building. After the new building was completed, the properties were allocated according to the proportion of each party's investment. Therefore, on early Chinese maps, this building was called the "Union Building." Later, many banks and insurance companies moved in, but for some reason people only remembered the "Youli Bank."
The headquarters of Thé et Cie Ltd. was located in London, originally named "India, London and China Commercial Company," merging with "Asia Chartered Bank" later, opening a branch in Shanghai in 1854 and becoming one of the earliest foreign banks to enter Shanghai. Around 1936, Youli Bank acquired a portion of the property rights of this building for 80,000 pounds. Address 4 Zhongshan East 1st Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai (near Guangdong Road)
Opening hours All day (Monday-Sunday from January 1st to December 31st)
Transportation Yanan East Road Zhongshan East 1st Road (The Bund) stops: Night Bus 311, Night Bus 316, Bus 42, Bus 71.
The entire building is very durable
