The Shanghai Custom House was first set up in the late 17th century, when the
Qing dynasty Kangxi Emperor lifted the
ban against sea trade after conquering
Taiwan. To facilitate trading along the east coast of
China, the Qing government set up customs houses in the four coastal provinces of
Jiangnan (now split into Jiangsu and Anhui),
Zhejiang,
Fujian, and
Guangdong. The name "Jiangnan Custom House" was abbreviated to "Jiang Custom House", or
Jiang Haiguan () in Chinese. The principal customs house, originally located at
Lianyungang was later set up just outside the east gate of the
walled city of Shanghai (then part of Jiangnan Province), by the
Huangpu River. With the development of overseas trade in Shanghai, the location of the customs house became increasingly inconvenient, with foreign merchants preferring to berth their ships further out to sea, near today's
Bund. The governor of Shanghai then set up a check point at the south end of the Bund. Upon further insistence by the British consul to move the customs house inside the British concession, a new customs house was built at the present site. This new house is known as the New Custom House, North Customs House, or "Foreign Custom House", whereas the old customs house was known as the "Grand Custom House". In 1853, the rebelling
Small Swords Society burnt down the Grand Custom House. In 1860, the
Taiping Revolution Army burnt down the rebuilt Grand Custom House. It was decided not to rebuild the Grand Custom House, with the current building becoming the new headquarters. During these rebellions, British authorities in the city declared the concession to be neutral. They then expelled the Qing officials from the North Custom House by force, on the grounds that they could not collect customs in neutral territory. After the rebellion, Qing authorities in Shanghai were forced to set up their own customs authority, first on two gunboats parked across the river in
Pudong, then on the north bank of
Suzhou River. However, foreign merchant vessels ignored these ineffective customs posts. In 1854, the British obtained the power of customs in the concession. Britain, France, and the United States each nominated one person to form a "Foreigners Tax Committee", which operated from the Custom House. Subsequently, the Qing government agreed to appoint a Briton as an inspector general of the newly formed
Chinese Maritime Customs Service. In 1857, the Shanghai government spent 6800
taels of silver to rebuild the North Custom House. In 1863,
Sir Robert Hart was appointed to the position of inspector general, a position that he held until 1911. A statue of Hart which had originally stood at the junction of Jiujiang road and the Bund was moved to a position in front of the Custom House in 1927. During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai the statue was taken down in September 1943. As rebuilt in 1857, the New Custom House was in the traditional Chinese
Yamen style. It was fronted with a monumental arch or
pailou () and two flag poles. By 1859, the building had become outdated. The governor of Shanghai then applied for funding to rebuild it. Robert Hart chose a
Gothic design, with a five-story rectangular clock tower in the center, and two three-story wings beside it, surrounding a quadrangle. This was built in 1891. This building was again demolished in 1925 to make way for the current structure designed by architects
Palmer and Turner. The new building was completed on 19December 1927, and cost 4.3 million taels of silver, twice the budget. It was the tallest building on the Bund at the time of construction. ==Layout==