Russo-Chinese Bank Building

The St. Petersburg based Russo-Chinese Bank opened its branch in Shanghai on 13 February 1896 within No.

The building was designed in Italian Renaissance style by the German architect Heinrich Becker, assisted by Yokohama-based German architect Richard Seel, after winning an open competition for the building's design.

The building is of a brick and concrete composite structure and has a floor area of 5018 square metres.

It aroused much controversy over the foreign community in Shanghai at the time of its completion as being out of place amidst the other buildings on the bund.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the building was used for numerous other firms and organizations including the Aviation Authority and the Light Industry Bureau of Shanghai.

The Russo-Chinese Bank Building
High resolution photograph of the building in 1994
Russo-Chinese Bank Building in 1994. It was used as the Chinese Foreign Exchange and Trade Center in 1994.