Customs House

The Customs House, in Shanghai

The Customs House is one of the most recognisable symbols of the Bund, famous for its clock tower often compared to Big Ben. The Shanghai audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this imposing neoclassical building of 1927, witness of the commercial power of the town at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Big Ben of the Bund and the point zero of Shanghai

In front of you stands one of the most recognisable symbols of the Bund: the Customs House of Shanghai, the building of the Customs. With its monumental façade and above all its great clock tower, often compared to that of Big Ben in London, it embodies on its own the commercial power and the prestige of the town at the beginning of the twentieth century. Built in 1927 by the British firm Palmer and Turner, in a neoclassical style inspired by ancient Greece, the Customs House was long one of the most imposing buildings of Asia. Its granite façade, its Doric columns and its hall decorated with marble and gilded mosaics testify to the wealth of the era. Its clock tower, that culminates at nearly eighty metres, was at its construction the highest element of the Bund; its chime, long set on that of Big Ben, gave the rhythm to the life of the port. Through the maritime customs, it is all the commerce of China opened onto the world that passed here, making this building one of the nerve centres of the Shanghai economy. The Customs House was also considered as the point zero of the town, the landmark from which the distances were measured. Recently opened to the public after nearly a century, it reveals again its prestigious interiors. A building of the customs and an emblematic clock tower, the Customs House is a fine stop of the discovery of Shanghai.

What to see

You admire the imposing building of the Customs, built in 1927 by the British firm Palmer and Turner in a neoclassical style, with a granite façade, Doric columns and a hall adorned with marble and gilded mosaics; its clock tower of nearly eighty metres, compared to Big Ben and long set on its chime, dominates the Bund, of which this building marked the point zero. The Customs House is a symbol of the Bund. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Customs House lies on the Bund, in the Huangpu district, along the Huangpu river, reachable on foot and by metro. You admire its façade and its clock tower from the promenade; the interior access, recently reopened, follows its own conditions and hours, which vary. It is best to enquire before coming.

Why is the Customs House of Shanghai compared to Big Ben?

Because of its great clock tower, that culminates at nearly eighty metres and whose chime was long set on that of Big Ben in London; this building of the Customs, built in 1927 in a neoclassical style by the firm Palmer and Turner, was one of the most imposing of Asia and the point zero of Shanghai.

Where is the Customs House in Shanghai?

On the Bund, in the Huangpu district, along the Huangpu river, in Shanghai, in China.