What to See in Ningbo
Ningbo may seem outside the beaten path for tourists visiting China for just a couple of days, but someone who spends more time in Ningbo can benefit from the city’s historical profile, as one of the important ports of the Tang Dynasty and a city that grew in preeminence during the 7th and 8th centuries. The result: a series of very interesting wooden constructions, with distinct particularities, some of these the biggest in this region of China.
All tours of Ningbo should include, at some point, the Tianyi Square. While it does not link to what has been previously said about the history of Ningbo, it is the heart of the modern city. You can easily spend an entire day here if you combine a cultural experience (including here a short visit to the Catholic Church that is located in the square), with all the shopping and eating opportunities that the place offers.
The Tianyige Museum perhaps better reflects the purpose of underlying the city’s rich history. The museum is built around the oldest private library in China, hosting more than 300,000 ancient books.
Some of the sites and attractions that are outside the city and, occasionally, more worthwhile than those within, are readily available for your visit. One half-day trip that you can take is to the Baoguo Temple, situated about 15 miles north of the city centre and considered the oldest wooden structure in Southern China.
You can take bus no. 322 all the way to the temple, which benefits from being situated in a beautiful landscape, surrounded by the Xiangbi and the Shiyan Mountains. The architecture of the different structures in the temple complex is the most relevant aspect of the visit: many of these are supported without the use of nails and rather through the interlocking wooden beams. The 17 halls that make up the temple complex include numerous exhibitions of Buddhist sculptures and artifacts.
You don’t need to take a trip outside Ningbo to visit the tallest structure in Ningbo and another example of striking architecture. The Tianfeng Ta is a pagoda that was initially built in the 7th century (during the Tang Dynasty, which makes be occasionally referred to as Tang Ta – the Tang Pagoda) and rebuilt in the 14th century.
The views of the cities from the top are great, so take the time to walk all the way up. Four of the pagoda’s stories are actually buried below the ground level and there are seven stories that are hidden to the public.