Jincheng Bank Building

Jincheng Bank Building

The Jincheng Bank Building is a Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Jincheng Bank Building

It is now the Bank of Communications Building, located at No. 200 Jiangxi Middle Road. Constructed in the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927), it was designed by architect Zhuang Jun. The seven-story reinforced concrete frame structure was originally designed to have four floors, with two additional floors added during the War of Resistance against Japan and one more floor built after the liberation. The building employed a pile-driving method using log piles. It covers an area of 4,600 square meters, with a construction area of 9,783 square meters, and a building height of 25.9 meters.

The lower two floors of the building were used by the bank itself, while the upper floors were rented out as office space. The ground floor housed a large vault and a reception hall, the second floor contained a safe deposit vault, manager’s office, and other facilities. The exterior walls were constructed with Suzhou Jinshan stone, and the front facade featured eight square pillars forming three wall sections, creating a textured wall surface. The central section was designed as the main entrance, flanked by two Greek Doric columns, with some localized Baroque decorations. The building is primarily in the Classical style. Interior materials included Italian marble, and all downspouts were made from copper sheeting. In terms of facilities, it was equipped with a state-of-the-art safe at the time. The building materials were of high quality, including marble used for the ground floor’s business hall flooring, wainscoting, staircases, and square pillars.

Zhuang Jun was among China’s first generation of architects, known for designing Western classical-style buildings, and this building is one of his representative works. Jincheng Bank was a member of the Four Banks Savings Association, established its headquarters in Tianjin in the 6th year of the Republic of China, and opened a branch in Shanghai. In the 15th year of the Republic of China, the headquarters moved to Shanghai. After 1956, the building was long used as the Youth Palace, and since May 1986, it has served as the head office of the Bank of Communications.

It was designated as a Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1989.