I think this is really because they were doing the show at the wrong time. The entire city of Shanghai is like a huge construction site right now because of the 2010 World-Expo. The bund is probably the worst as it's almost completely dug-up. I guess they were just desperate to hold on to the idea of doing their show on the Bund as the Bund and the Huangpu River are truly the icons representing Shanghai, even though they mostly ended up using the financial zone on the other side of the river as the show background.
I haven't watched the entire film yet as I am at work right now. From a quick glimpse, to be honest, it sounds quite cheesy to me.
Are you from Shanghai or even China? I am a Chinese and lived in Shanghai from many years. I don't know what you mean by "the Strand".